During surveillance operations in the area, the uniformed officers discovered “six packages of plastic material hidden in the brush” that contained “750 artisanal antipersonnel mines” and “6 antipersonnel mines armed with pressure ignition systems,” specified the text quoted by the AFP news agency.
In images broadcast on Twitter by the Armed Forces, large packages can be seen in the middle of the jungle and cylindrical devices wrapped in adhesive tape.
In May, two Ecuadorian soldiers were injured during an armed attack against a military installation located near the border area. The border between Ecuador and Colombia is a zone of operations for illegal armed groups, including dissidents from the dissolved Colombian guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
In July, the Ecuadorian Armed Forces found, near the border with Colombia, an alleged abandoned guerrilla base that they attribute to a FARC dissident group. In 2018, attacks attributed to these rebels left at least seven soldiers and journalists dead, dozens injured, and two civilians kidnapped.
Ecuador, located between Colombia and Peru – the world’s two largest producers of cocaine – is experiencing an increase in crime associated with drug trafficking.
So far this year, Ecuadorian authorities have seized 152 tons of drugs. The homicide rate between January and October per 100,000 inhabitants is 18.29. Last year, Ecuador seized a record 210 tons of drugs. Regarding anti-personnel mines, Ecuador participates in the Comprehensive Action Program against Mines of the OAS Department of Public Security, which has already supported 10 member states since 2010.
According to the organization, seven countries have completed the destruction of stockpiled mines and five are free of antipersonnel mines.
Source: Ambito
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