The National Protection Unit (UNP) faces a problem that transcends the safety of the people under its protection scheme: andl systematic theft of armored vehicles, weapons and other assets intended to guarantee the lives of politicians, social leaders, peace signatories and people at risk.
According to figures known to EL TIEMPO, Between 2022 and so far in 2026, at least 157 trucks and 225 firearms linked to the entity’s protection schemes have been stolen.
The armored trucks used by the entity have become a strategic objective for the illegal armed groups.
These vehicles, used to transport people with high threat levels, may be valued at more than 500 million pesosdue to its level of armor and its ability to resist weapon impacts.
Assets in the hands of armed groups
UNP protection schemes. Photo:Private file
One of the most revealing data is that the objective of these attacks has changed: they no longer necessarily seek to attack the protected person, but rather to take control. control of assets (vehicles and weapons) for strengthen the logistical capacities of illegal groups.
According to the director of Protection of the UNP, Miguel Ángel Quiroga, the problem is mainly concentrated in departments such as Arauca, Norte de Santander and Cauca, where armed groups exercise territorial control over important road corridors. There, protection schemes are often intercepted on the road and forced to stop.
“The groups go out to the roads, easily identify the entity’s vehicles, they force them to stop and end up taking the trucks,” explained the director
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Given this, the entity recognizes a feeling of “impossibility” to respond, given that its function is strictly protection and not combat or direct confrontation with armed actors.
However, these trucks, weapons and more protective elements Most of them are not owned by the UNP, but are supplied by private contracted companies. through tenders with temporary unions (group of companies) that provide the rental service.
Added to this is the theft of 1,148 jackets with official UNP logos from the contractor company’s factory. This fact set off national alarms due to the high risk of impersonation.
“The company Soluciones Integrales Montgomery SAS, which currently has a current contract with the UNP for the provision of windproof jackets, reported the theft of a lot of 30 boxes with 1,148 of these garments, which have the institutional logo printed on them. The incident occurred on Thursday, February 26 at the company’s facilities, located in the city of Bogota“, the entity reported through a statement.
In less than 24 hours, the dissidents stole three vans
FARC dissidents in Cauca. Photo:Private file.
For the protection director, this phenomenon has persisted over the years. However, there is an increase in the violence of attacks against bodyguards.
One of the most serious cases occurred on May 19 in the Catatumbo region. In the Oropoma village, jurisdiction of the municipality of Ábrego (Norte de Santander), Armed men attributed to the ELN attacked a UNP truck.
Over there Two bodyguards of the entity were murdered, the social leader Freiman David Velásquez and three other people who were traveling in the vehicle.
He The most recent case of theft of a UNP truck occurred on May 17, 2026, when armed men intercepted the vehicle assigned to the Cauca Regional Indigenous Guard. The incident was reported by the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (Cric).
According to the complaint, the truck, with plates NQK-680 and white, was detained in the El Cofre sector, in the jurisdiction of the municipality of Cajibío (Cauca). After intimidating its occupants, those responsible took the vehicle.
Another episode that set off alarms occurred in Norte de Santander. On April 14, three UNP trucks were stolen in less than 24 hoursin acts that would have been perpetrated by members of the FARC dissidents that operate in that region of the country.
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Who assumes the million-dollar losses from the robberies?
Since the majority of vehicles used by the UNP belong to contracting companies and not to the entity, It is these companies that must assume the procedures after the theft.
Although they can complain to the insurers after submitting the respective complaints to the Prosecutor’s Office, several sources indicated that Not all vehicles are covered due to high risk that represent operations in areas with the presence of armed groups.
In practice, this means that part of the losses ends up being assumed directly by the companies owners of the trucks, some of which are valued at more than 500 million.
In response to this problemthe UNP is advancing in the development of software to improve the control and location of vehicles linked to protection schemes.
The initiative has generated controversy due to concerns about possible monitoring of protected persons. However, the entity denied that it seeks to illegally monitor the protected persons and pointed out that the complaints lack technical, legal and operational support, and that it seeks to minimize irregularities such as the absence of the escort with the protected person.
Natalia Peláez Sabogal
School of Multimedia Journalism EL TIEMPO
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