From the La Popa Artillery Battalion No. 2in Valledupar, Cesarin the middle of a military ceremony, the president Abelardo De La Espriellain the company of civil and military authorities, reactivated the Uranus Joint Task Force.
The strategy seeks to carry out the fight against theft and diversion of hydrocarbons at a different operational level, because the commitment will not be limited to monitoring oil pipelines, checking service stations or pursuing clandestine connections, but rather concentrating the capabilities of the Military forces to intervene in areas where fuel ends up feeding economies such as the drug trafficking and illegal mining.
From Valledupar, President De La Espriella pointed out that The unit will be made up of 1,200 uniformed personnel of the Army, the Air Force and the Police, which will begin their actions against the ‘Gulf clan’ and the eln in Caesar.
The movement also implies a change compared to the model applied during the previous administration, when several joint task forces were dismantled due to decisions adopted from the Ministry of Defensethen headed by Ivan Velasquez. Now, the Government returns to a formula that concentrates unitsintelligence, mobility and air and land capacity under common planning to operate over defined territories.
Balance of the Military Forces. Photo:Courtesy
The decision is contained in the Permanent Directive 037issued by the Ministry of Defense, a document that establishes the guidelines to confront the seizure of hydrocarbons and its connection with what the ministry calls the “Transnational Narcoterrorist Hybrid Criminal System“The instruction covers the Military Forces and the National Police and proposes a response that combines intelligence, criminal investigation, territorial control, financial monitoring and coordination with other State entities.
The leadership of the military component will be under the responsibility of the General Command of the Military Forces. This body must prepare the planning, direct the military effort and supervise the joint operations that take place within Uranus, with coordination of the National Police when appropriate. The Police, for their part, will integrate its prevention capabilitiesintelligence and criminal investigation without modifying its civil nature or its own line of command.
Thus, the General Command must define the mission, the commandthe components, area of responsibility, duration and capabilities of that joint organization.
Cenit Trans-Andean Oil Pipeline Photo:Zenith
What led to the reactivation of the Force
The diagnosis that supports the decision shows why Defense expanded the spectrum. Authorities have identified several modalities through which legal fuel ends up within illicit circuits. One of them is the direct theft in pipelines through valves and hoses. Another consists of extract crude oil from pipelines and process it in improvised refineries. They also appear diversion of tank cars towards illegal mines and the irregular use of service stations.
The official investigation also detected operations in border areas where tax-benefited fuel is purchased to later divert it towards illegal activities. The directive mentions traffic across borders with Ecuador, Peru and Venezuelaand even the creation of service stations that formally appear before the authorities, but that physically would not exist and would serve to justify fuel supply towards areas of illegal mining or drug trafficking.
Members of the Military Forces. Photo:Jaiver Nieto. EL TIEMPO Archive
In parallel, Controls on service stations will be strengthened. The order includes periodically reviewing distribution and supply, rebuild fuel traceability from its origin to its final destination and compare historical consumption patterns to detect behaviors that go beyond expected levels. The technical information of the operating companies will also be used to locate illicit connections, tank trucks, routes and chain agents that present atypical movements.
The document also reveals the economic size surrounding the problem. With cut to September 9, 2026the Ministry of Defense registered 54 processes before the contentious-administrative jurisdiction related to these events, whose claims totaled around 17.65 billion pesos. Eight correspond to reparation for damages caused to a group and concentrate most of that value, while another 45 processes are direct reparation.
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This scenario helps explain why the response was no longer considered exclusively as physical protection of pipes. The general mission ordered to the Public Force includes preventing, investigating and counteracting the seizure, diversion, transportation, storage, marketing and illicit destination of fuels. The chain must be observed completelyfrom the point where a gallon disappears to the place where it ends up becoming an input for another criminal economy.
Uranus will therefore have two fronts that will advance in parallel. One will be territorial, with operations on clandestine connections, transportation corridors, collection centers and infrastructure used by the organizations. The other will be financial and judicialwith the tracking of the money, the identification of those responsible and the impact of the assets that support the operation.
Justice Editorial
Justicia@eltiempo.com
