Seven minors killed in Colombian military airstrikes amid Petro’s escalating offensive on armed groups – Firstpost

Seven minors were killed this week in Colombian military air strikes against an armed group allegedly involved in drug trafficking in the country’s southern Amazon region, the national ombudsman’s office said Saturday.

Iris Marin, head of the office, told reporters that “six minor victims of forced recruitment” were killed in the operation ordered by President Gustavo Petro, who is under US pressure to crack down on drug trafficking.

They later increased the death toll to seven, including four girls and three boys, all teenagers.

Colombia’s military announced on Tuesday that it had carried out airstrikes in the Amazon region in the early hours of November 10, killing 19 members of the ex-FARC splinter group.

The army also reported “rescuing” three minors from rebel hands after the bombing.

Also, a defense ministry source told AFP on Friday that the army had killed nine suspected guerrillas in attacks in Arauca province, near the Venezuelan border.

The operations are part of Petro’s intensified attacks against armed groups involved in cocaine trafficking, following intense pressure from US President Donald Trump over alleged inaction on drug production.

In a Saturday post on Twitter, Petro defended the military’s actions in the Amazon operation.

The leftist president said, “Of course, every death is regrettable, especially that of minors. But if I had allowed 150 of Ivan Mordisco’s men to advance through the forest, they would have ambushed 20 young soldiers who were stationed just a few kilometers ahead.”

“I took the decision to save their lives, risking their lives. It’s easy to paint red on maps; it’s hard to accept the risks of reclaiming territory,” Petro said.

The President has launched a manhunt with a million-dollar reward for the capture of Mordisco, whom he compares to cocaine baron Pablo Escobar, who was killed in 1993.

Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez claimed that the operation was ordered “in view of the imminence and seriousness of the threat” to which troops were at risk.

Authorities are investigating whether the latest attack killed Antonio Medina, a high-ranking rebel commander responsible for the bloody war between ex-FARC fighters and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group, local media reported.

American pressure

Colombia’s president is facing pre-election criticism and US sanctions over his alleged reluctance to target armed cocaine-trafficking groups.

In October, Washington imposed unprecedented sanctions on Petro, his wife, son and a top aide, accusing them of enabling a drug cartel.

The US government provided no evidence directly linking Petro to drug trafficking.

Since taking power in 2022, Petro, himself a former guerrilla, had previously opted to engage well-armed cocaine cartels in negotiations rather than open war.

He is constitutionally barred from running for president again, but the criticism threatens to damage his political allies during next year’s elections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)