Bogota: Colombia’s leftist guerrillas rely on drones to drop explosives on opponents, terrorizing the countryside and reducing military tensions.
As dissident groups from the now-defunct FARC guerrilla army continue their war for territory and human trafficking, the drone’s low frequency has become a secret signal for villagers.
The Colombian military recently released a video of rebels using drones to attack soldiers and civilians – at least 17 such attacks have been recorded in conflict areas such as Cauca in the past six weeks.
Unlike the sophisticated charges deployed by soldiers in Ukraine on drones, the insurgents mostly use homemade explosives or fireworks.
So far their flying bombs have not died.
But in Popayan, the capital of Havana, the municipality banned drone flights after a police station was attacked with explosives on June 7.
A week ago, a girl was injured by an explosive device near a hospital in Suarez, and three soldiers were recently injured in two drone strikes in Algeria.
The armed forces of the South American country, which is struggling to emerge from a six-decade civil war, announced on Tuesday that it had bought a drone that “contains this act of terrorism”.
In its military campaign to seize power, the FARC has spent millions of dollars on black market weapons — machine guns, grenades and mines.
Currently, the Central Headquarters (EMC) and Segunda Marketalia – the two groups that the FARC refused to disarm when they signed a peace agreement in 2016 – rely more on commercial jets that cost less than $1,000.
“It’s a basic technology, but it’s effective,” security expert Luis Armas told AFP.
AFP obtained a transcript from an official source of a phone call between EMC members discussing drone strike plans.
In one, the rebels used an “oligarch’s residence” in Bogotá. Police in the Colombian capital announced this week that they have purchased a Dronebuster 3 to intercept drone communications.
A guerrilla commander told AFP the drone was a priority for the rebels.
“If the enemy is preparing drones, of course it should continue,” he said in a voice message from the southwest of the country.
Miller Hurtado, security secretary of the Cavalry Department, told Colombia’s Radio W that there is a race between armed groups to show that they are “better armed, have better technology.”
But because drones lack precision targeting techniques, explosives pose a risk of landing in unplanned civilian areas such as schools.
Jorja Restrepo, a researcher at the Conflict Analysis Resource Center, said the increased use of drones represented a “huge leap in military power” for guerrilla fighters.
“The armed forces are not ready for this new ‘terrorist’ weapon,” he told AFP.
Defense Minister Ivan Velázquez admitted that the military’s drone warfare capabilities are “not enough.”
Drones: new terror tool for Colombian guerrillas
