EL PLATEADO: Twenty-eight police officers and one soldier held hostage in southwest Colombia were released, with fresh tensions erupting in the coca-producing region after they had left. Residents of the community of La Hacienda in the department of Cauca told the detainees that they were free to go. The men, held since Thursday, collected their riot gear and left along a dirt road, escorted by local residents. The three-hour journey to El Plateado, where the men were released, was tense, with an unidentified drone flying over the convoy and fierce arguments between the villagers and officials of the Ombudsman's Office.
President Gustavo Petro confirmed that the men were free. The 29 men were detained after a day of clashes between residents and security forces, part of a government military operation aimed at ending drug-related violence in a region with one of the highest concentrations of coca crops in Colombia. The government said the officers were being held by a dissident FARC guerrilla group, the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), for whom the Canon del Micay region is a stronghold. — AFP
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