{"id":199553,"date":"2025-09-04T12:44:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T12:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/199553\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T12:44:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T12:44:10","slug":"soldiers-doused-with-gasoline-set-on-fire-during-mission-to-destroy-cocaine-lab-colombia-army-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/199553\/","title":{"rendered":"Soldiers doused with gasoline, set on fire during mission to destroy cocaine lab, Colombia army says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two Colombian soldiers were seriously injured after being doused with gasoline and set on fire when an anti-drug operation was attacked in southeastern Colombia<\/a>, the army said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The incident occurred during an operation to destroy a cocaine<\/a> laboratory in a rural area of the northern Putumayo department, which borders Ecuador.<\/p>\n

A riot took place during which a “group of civilians attacked the uniformed officers with fire to impede the procedure,” the military said in a statement Wednesday.<\/p>\n

An officer and a soldier suffered severe burns and were receiving treatment in a hospital.<\/p>\n

Such attacks by civilians on security forces in remote, guerrilla-controlled areas have become increasingly frequent in Colombia.<\/p>\n

The Latin American country is grappling with its worst security crisis in a decade, fueled by criminal groups profiting from drug trafficking, extortion and illegal mining.<\/p>\n

The army vowed action against the Comandos de Frontera, a dissident faction that rejected the 2016 peace accord between the government and the FARC guerrilla group, accusing them of orchestrating the attack and “coercing” the civilian population in the area.<\/p>\n

Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a post on social media\u00a0<\/a>that the perpetrators “are neither peasants nor communities claiming their rights.”<\/p>\n

“They are criminals and narcos who attempted to murder our soldiers.”<\/p>\n

Sanchez posted video of one oft the victims being transported by helicopter to receive medical care.<\/p>\n

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Condenamos y repudiamos el demencial intento de quemar vivos a dos de nuestros militares del @COL_EJERCITO<\/a>, quienes se encontraban\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/aas2Xb2o27<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez S. Orgullosamente Colombiano (@PedroSanchezCol) September 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Border Command group, which operates in both Colombia and Ecuador, is currently in peace negotiations with leftist President Gustavo Petro’s government, but with little progress.<\/p>\n

Colombian prosecutors arrested Andres Rojas, the group’s leader who is also known as Arana, during a meeting with government representatives in February.<\/p>\n

He faces charges related to recent cocaine shipments to the United States and his extradition is being sought.<\/p>\n

Ecuadoran authorities blamed the group for killing 11 soldiers in an attack during an operation against illegal mining in May.<\/p>\n

In July, a military dog in Colombia<\/a> was wounded after detecting a bomb planted by guerrilla fighters that exploded during a military operation.\u00a0 The Colombian military blamed the explosion on ELN, a group of roughly 6,000 fighters that is fighting Colombia’s government. Peace talks with the group \u2014 which the U.S. has\u00a0designated<\/a>\u00a0as a foreign terrorist organization \u2014 were suspended in January, when the\u00a0ELN was blamed<\/a>\u00a0for dozens of deaths in raids near the border with Venezuela.<\/p>\n

The dog’s injury was announced just two days after a bomb strapped to a donkey<\/a> exploded in the same area, killing one soldier and wounding two others.<\/p>\n

\n More from CBS News\n <\/p>\n