Two alleged members of Colombia’s largest rebel group, the FARC, were captured in Ecuador Friday, reported newspaper El Espectador.
In a joint military effort, the National Navy of Colombia shared information with the Ecuadorean military which they used to locate and capture the two guerrillas on the banks of the Putamayo river, which runs along the Colombia-Ecuador border.
The two countries “combined actions on its borders (…) to combat the transnational organized crime,” said Marine Corps General Hector Julio Pachon, Commander of the Southern Colombian Naval Forces.
The operation occurred a day after Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa announced his determination to eliminate the FARC’s presence in his country.
The captured rebels were allegedly members of the FARC’s 48th Front and were identified as John Elrinton Pianada Dovicamo, alias “Marihuano” and Justo Galindo Reina, alias “el Mexicano.”
According to General Pachon, Pianada was the front’s “explosive expert” while Galindo was in charge of transporting explosives between the FARC’s 48th and 49th Fronts. When captured, they were in possession of a dozen mortar rounds, a canon, and various additional explosives.
The two men were transfered to Colombian security forces shortly after their capture.