Bloody Rescue in Chocó: Comprehensive State Policies and an End to Strategic Naivety Are Urgently Needed
The bloody rescue of 39 people kidnapped by the ELN in Chocó was not an isolated event. It is a reality that the country does not view with the necessary clarity. While horror gripped the families of the hostages, the military operation exposed the fragility of security in strategic zones and the State's inability to protect its citizens preventively. The consequences of this event—indelible trauma and growing institutional desolation—are the balance sheet of the erratic "Total Peace," a management model that prefers rhetorical dialogues over the sovereign recovery of territory. The Petro government's "Total Peace" is a monumental strategic error. It appointed negotiators without the necessary tactical preparation, and by engaging in dialogue without a clear containment strategy against an actor that seeks strengthening rather than peace, the State has ceded legitimacy and terrain. Meanwhile, the ELN has empowered itself through illicit economies—drug trafficking, illegal mining, and human trafficking in border zones—acting as a criminal machine with an ideological facade. Chocó is not a casual choice for the ELN. Its geostrategic value is incalculable: it allows access to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and facilitates expansion toward the southwest, Valle, Cauca, Nariño, and projection toward the coffee region, Antioquia, and Córdoba. This position grants the group a geopolitical advantage to control illegal revenues and activate clandestine networks. The ELN occupies territory to build a long-term vision of a communist society. Its strategy includes communities instrumentalized by front organizations, fueled by networks of complicity with radical sectors of the Catholic Church, university professors, and intellectual elites of the left who, trapped in the past, promote an alleged "Marxist-Christian revolution" that fosters communist violence and narco-terrorism About the Author: Lieutenant Colonel Luis Alberto Villamarín Pulido is a veteran officer of the Colombian Army and a renowned international analyst of strategic affairs, geopolitics, and national security. He is the author of more than 40 books on the Colombian conflict and international terrorism. Additionally, he is an international speaker and an expert consultant on defense and military leadership for major Spanish-language media outlets worldwide.
