On June 12, explosives fell from the sky in the mountainous town of El Plateado, in Algeria (Cauca), the port of entry to the Micay River canyon and the exit route for illicit drugs to the Pacific Ocean. Three soldiers were injured. Five days later, this Monday, a woman and a two-year-old girl also suffered injuries in the same town when bombs rained down on their heads. In both cases, the devices were not launched by rockets or planes: they came from drones modified by dissidents of the extinct FARC to convert them into weapons of war; a new weapon in the country.
Hours after this Monday’s attack, the commander of the Military Forces, Hélder Giraldo, announced to the media that the Army is working to acquire anti-drone systems: “The goal is to be able to detect, identify and destroy this type of aircraft,” said the general. The next day, the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, revealed in a conference that the Public Force has suffered 19 attacks with modified drones so far this year, all in Cauca and all since April. Velásquez added that the Government’s defense capabilities against this type of weapons are “insufficient.” “We need to increase capabilities,” he admitted. Drones have officially entered the Colombian armed conflict, and their potential is still unknown.
The use of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, as a weapon of war, is not entirely new in Colombia, says by telephone Nicolás Urrutia, inspector general of the National Intelligence Directorate (DNI) during the second term of former president Juan Manuel Santos. . The security expert maintains that similar equipment has been used, very occasionally, by illegal armed groups since the beginning of the millennium. However, its presence has increased drastically in recent months. Precisely, General Giraldo warned on March 20 about the danger of “imminent” attacks by dissidents with this type of aircraft. He was right.
Less than a week later, the Public Forces engaged in a bloody battle with the Daría Ramírez front, part of the federation of dissident groups known as the Central General Staff, in the municipality of Garzón (Huila). One member of the illegal group died in the confrontation and four more were captured. A DJI Mini 4 pro drone was also seized, which sells on Amazon for around four million pesos (one thousand dollars). Since then, not only have the 19 attacks occurred in Cauca, but, according to authorities, dissident groups have carried out drone management courses in the departments of Putumayo, Guaviare, Vaupés, Nariño, Caquetá and Norte de Santander. The threat is clear.
Weapons inspired by Ukraine
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For Urrutia, who has been an advisor to several security entities and is the director of compliance, forensic analysis and intelligence of the consulting firm Control Risks for the Andean region, the increase in the use of drones has a very clear explanation: “It can be described as a phenomenon of emulation. And in the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian forces have been able to incorporate basic, low-cost drones, which can be bought on Amazon for a couple of hundred dollars, to do unsophisticated, but effective things.” These air attacks have given them several victories, some important, in these almost 30 months of fighting.
The security expert explains by phone that Colombian guerrillas have copied for years the modus operandi used by different armed groups around the world. And this time, he assures, the dissidents have discovered a weapon that is very easy to integrate into their ranks. “Drones are low-cost, have no barriers to entry or export controls, and are increasingly easier to use with little training.” As in Ukraine, dissidents have taken advantage of this and have learned to modify drones designed to take photographs and videos to turn them into deadly weapons. According to the Armed Forces, these aircraft are capable of supporting up to four kilos of explosives and thus flying about 15 kilometers. Urrutia explains that they are used to attack military targets such as infrastructure or military installations, but warns that, given their limited carrying capacity, the attacks are not “devastating.”
aerial surveillance
Drones also fulfill another essential function for armed groups: surveillance. Urrutia explains that these aircraft allow them to have a greater ability to detect the positions and advances of rival military forces. For him, this is key. “One of the operating models that has worked very well for the Colombian forces has been to insert small units of special forces, which carefully approach valuable objects to decommission them or locate them for air operations. That only works when you can move forward without being detected. “This type of drones can be used by armed groups to prevent that,” he says.
Gabriel Silva Luján served as Minister of Defense during the last year of the presidency of right-wing Álvaro Uribe, after the departure of Juan Manuel Santos from that position. He assures by phone that, with the modified drones, the dissidents have achieved something that different illegal groups have wanted to achieve for a long time: “The guerrillas have always looked for weapons to hit the Public Forces from a distance.” For years, the Army had one of its great military advantages in its air power. Many experts point out that the State’s ability to bomb the FARC (now extinct) was key to leading them to negotiate peace.
For Silva, this time it is the dissidents who have the advantage. “The defense planning exercise has been very poor in this Government. The guerrilla anticipated the Army and obtained a weapon that was very difficult to stop,” he says. “If you have the explosives, the drone is the least of it. The guerrilla is now capable of projecting fire, attacking, something it had never done before,” he adds.
An uncertain future
The former Minister of Defense warns that, with the incorporation of a new weapon and the Government’s lack of preparation, drones can have a great impact in the coming months. “As long as the armed forces adapt, the guerrillas will have a significant advantage. We are going to have a very difficult year,” he says. And, according to him, although the Government says that it is in the process of purchasing anti-drone systems, obtaining them is not that easy. He recalls that the largest supplier is Israel, a country with which President Gustavo Petro recently broke relations due to its constant bombings of the civilian population in Gaza. The other options, he assures, would be the United States or its rivals such as Russia, Iran or China.
Urrutia foresees a different evolution. The former inspector general of the National Intelligence Directorate (DNI) doubts that drones can significantly change the development of the conflict. Although they are cheap and easily accessible, the expert points out that Colombian armed groups have always had difficulties in successfully incorporating new technologies. And he doesn’t think this time will be the exception. “I think in specific circumstances, in specific areas of the country, it is a new ingredient. But I tend to be somewhat skeptical that this in itself is going to change the dynamics of the confrontation,” he says.
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