Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Sunday the armed forces had total control over the security situation in the southwest of the country, following a string of alleged FARC attacks over the past few days.
Pese a hostigamientos cobardes de terroristas nuestra Fuerza Pública tiene total control y protege a la población
— Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) July 8, 2012
“Despite the cowardly terrorist attacks, our public force has total control and protects the population,” said Santos on the social networking site Twitter.
The president’s comment came after alleged FARC guerrillas last week launched a series of attacks in the municipalities of Toribio, Miranda, Argelia and Jambolo, all located in Colombia’s southwestern Cauca department.
Some 10 civilians and five members of the armed forces were wounded in the accumulated attacks.
According to Colombian newspaper El Espectador, the FARC has attacked Toribio more than 10 times so far this year and, in the past week, increased attacks with homemade mortars and explosives.
The Cauca department, a traditional stronghold of the FARC, is considered to be hard-hit by Colombia’s ongoing armed conflict, partly due to its high yield of coca plantations and its strategic importance for drug trafficking routes, attracting criminal gangs, neo-paramilitaries and left-wing guerrillas.