Colombian Border Commandos deny involvement in ambush as 11 soldiers are honored in Quito

While government officials vow revenge for the ambush of 11 soldiers in a remote area of Orellana Province on Friday, the group alleged to have carried out the attack is denying its involvement. In two social media posts, leaders of the Border Commanders, a breakaway faction of the Colombian rebel army FARC, say they were not in the area at the time of killings.

The bodies of 11 soldiers killed in an Orellano Province ambush on Friday arrived in Quito Saturday morning.

On Saturday, in a ceremony attended by officials and military commanders in Quito, the 11 soldiers killed in the ambush were honored as heroes. The soldiers were members of the Army’s 19th Napo Jungle Brigade conducting raids to dismantle illegal gold mines when they were attacked.

The unit was trapped in a ravine by attackers, the Army reports, and killed with hand grenades, dynamite and gunfire.

“The political-military organization Comandos de la Frontera bears no responsibility for the unfortunate events that occurred in Ecuadorian territory May 9,” read a message attributed to the group. “We were not operating in this location at the time of the attack.”

The statement continued: “Comandos de la Frontera operate in Colombian territory and do not conduct offensive actions against the military forces of neighboring countries,”

In a second post, the purported Commando leaders called the soldiers’ deaths “an event in the Ecuador’s so-called internal conflict against terrorists.” The post blamed the deaths on Ecuadorian gangs,such as Los Choneros, Los Lobos and Los Tiguerones, who are involved in illegal mining operations.

The post added: “Ecuador’s impotent government is always looking for scapegoats for its ongoing failures.”

During Saturday’s ceremony in Quito, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo held the Commandos soley responsible the massacre and said the government is “committing all resources necessary to locate and eliminate the killers.”

In a Sunday radio interview, Loffredo admitted domestic gangs are involved in illegal mining, particularly Los Lobos, but said the gangs work “under the direction” of the Commandos.