At dawn on September 21, two almost simultaneous attacks against Army troops in the village of La Unión, in La Macarena, Meta, caused the death of three professional soldiers and they left a noncommissioned officer injured and three other soldiers.
The institution attributed the attack to the Ever Castro structurefrom the Jorge Suárez Briceño Block, alias Calarcá faction. Hours later, in the village of Puerto Chorizo, jurisdiction of Vistahermosa, another military unit was attacked with an explosive device and shots from long-range weapons while moving through the area.
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Two professional soldiers were injured and were evacuated to receive medical attention. The cases put a face to the figures of the Defense sector which, as of August, show two behaviors that advance in different directions.
National Army soldier in Tolemaida. Photo:Mauricio Moreno / EL TIEMPO.
On the one hand, the number of members of the Public Force killed in acts of service registers a reduction compared to the same period from last year. On the other hand, some injury indicators show increases or falls that change depending on the month and type of procedure.
In August, for example, murders of members decreased from 28 cases in 2025 to 12 in 2026, while wounded uniformed personnel went from 64 to 86. The figures are part of the Mindefensa balance sheet as of August and allow us to observe both the monthly comparison and the accumulated behavior of the first eight months of the year.
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In the case of murdered members of the Public Force, between January and August 2025, 135 cases had been registered. In the same period of 2026 the number dropped to 73that is, 62 fewer deaths and a variation of -46 percent. The decrease also appears when reviewing several months of the year.
In January 2025 11 uniformed officers were murdered and in January 2026 there were four. February went from 12 to 10 cases, March from 17 to 11 and April presented a reduction from 25 to five. July, for its part, went from 16 murders to five and August dropped from 28 to 12. Not all months followed this behavior. May recorded 13 members of the Public Force murdered in 2025 and 14 in 2026, while June went from 13 to 12 cases.
The composition of the accumulated also shows reductions among several categories. The number of soldiers killed exceeded 65 between January and August 2025 to 36 during the same period this year, a decrease of 45 percent.
At the executive level the record fell from 53 to 31equivalent to a variation of -42 percent. Among the officers it went from six deaths to twowhile non-commissioned officers dropped from eight to three. High school auxiliaries, who had three cases in the first eight months of 2025, registered one in 2026. The report does not report cases in the categories of agent or regular auxiliary for either of the two periods compared.
National Army soldier in Tolemaida. Photo:Mauricio Moreno / EL TIEMPO.
The injured show different behavior
The reduction recorded in murders is not replicated with the same intensity among wounded uniformed officers. The accumulated number exceeded 550 cases between January and August 2025 to 545 during the same period in 2026, just five fewer cases, equivalent to a variation of -1 percent.
August shows a difference compared to that consolidated. In that month 64 injuries were reported in 2025 and 86 in 2026, which represents 22 more cases. July too showed an increasegoing from 65 to 79, while May went from 68 injured in 2025 to 99 in 2026.
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In other months the trend was reversed. February went from 75 injured to 58, March from 84 to 74, April from 80 to 59 and June from 71 to 45. January recorded a smaller difference, with 43 cases in 2025 compared to 45 this year.The distribution by categories also shows increases between some ranges.
The injured officers exceeded seven during the first eight months of 2025 to 23 in 2026, a change of 229 percent. Non-commissioned officers increased from 39 to 52while the high school auxiliaries went from eight to 18.
The soldiers continue to concentrate the greatest number of wounded, although their record fell from 320 to 304. At the executive level also there was a reductiongoing from 175 cases to 148. Among regular auxiliaries a case was recorded in 2025 and none in 2026.
Seizures and immobilizations of aircraft fall. Another change appears in operations against aircraft belonging to drug trafficking. Between January and August 2025 authorities reported 169 immobilizations or seizures.
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In the same eight months of 2026 87 were registereda reduction of 82 procedures and a variation of -49 percent. August concentrates one of the differences of the period. While in that month of 2025 46 aircraft were registered, in August 2026 there were six. March also went from 56 procedures to 30, February from 31 to 23 and May from 17 to five.
The commander of the Military Forces, General Erik Rodríguez. Photo:FF. MM.
In January, however, there was an increase. The record went from two immobilized or seized aircraft in 2025 to 16 in 2026. June also went from zero to seven procedures. For July, the indicator went down again from 10 to two.
Boats increase in the accumulated
The behavior of vessels linked to drug trafficking is going in a different direction. Between January and August 2025 157 immobilizations were reported or seizures, compared to 169 in the same period of 2026. There are 12 additional procedures and a variation of 8 percent. The difference is especially concentrated in June and July. In June 2025 13 vessels were registeredwhile in 2026 there were 29. July went from 20 to 34 and August increased from 13 to 16.
During the first months, however, the records were lower or similar to those of the previous year. January went from 13 procedures in 2025 to eight in 2026; February remained at 18; March fell from 23 to 21; April from 26 to 17, and May from 31 to 26.
Jesus Blanquicet
Justice
