BOGOTA, Colombia — The Colombian army said Sunday that about 600 people surrounded and "kidnapped" 45 soldiers who were working to implement crop-replacement programs in the Micay Canyon, in the southwest department of Cauca.
In a press release the army said the soldiers were prevented from being deployed in the area, which is known for coca leaf cultivation and for being a bastion of a rebel faction that broke away from the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The army described the incident as a kidnapping but did not immediately provide additional details about the condition or location of the troops.
The operation targeted rural programs meant to replace illicit crops with legal alternatives. Armed groups and criminal organizations have frequently targeted such programs in areas where they derive income from coca production.
The abduction is the second such incident in less than a month. In August, 33 soldiers were seized in the southern department of Guaviare after a gunfight that killed 10 members of a FARC holdout group. Colombian authorities said villagers, allegedly acting under orders from the rebel group, detained the soldiers and demanded the return of a slain rebel's body, which had been transported to a morgue in the provincial capital; those troops were released after four days.
Cauca has been the scene of sustained violence and contestation since the 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and the FARC, which left a security vacuum in many rural districts. Dissident FARC factions, drug trafficking groups and local criminal networks have fought over territory and coca-growing areas abandoned in the wake of the peace process.
The army said the incident in Micay Canyon involved a group that has been carrying out attacks on military positions in the region. Authorities have in recent years increased deployments and coca-substitution efforts in southwestern Colombia, but officials acknowledge persistent difficulties securing remote, mountainous zones where illegal armed actors maintain influence.
Colombian officials had not released information Sunday about any negotiations for the soldiers' release or moves by federal forces to secure their freedom. The army statement did not identify individual units involved or provide a timeline for resolving the standoff.