And for that we tune into the words spoken by General Humberto Guatibonza Carreño, comamander of Region Six of Colombia’s National Police Force, at a press conference today. Colombia’s Caracol Radio does the reporting (translated):
“The operation is going very well. We have intervened in 119 localities, 700 people have been evicted, 19 people have been arrested, nine whorehouses have been closed down. The task continues, it’s a long-term objective and it has only recently begun. What I can say is that miners are no longer entering the illegal mines.”
For context, the operation has an objective of evicting 6,000 people from the settlements that have sprung up around the illegal mines, which means that a little over 10% have gone in the four days of the operation so far. It’s also worth noting here (because I’ve been asked in mails too) that the illegals and the mines they’re working are NOT in the same place as the Continental Gold (CNL.to) project, that’s a little further up the valley.