Jungle ambush of 11 soldiers blamed on the Colombian para-military group Frontier Commandos

As the bodies of 11 Ecuadorian soldiers were removed from a remote area of Orellana Province Friday night, Army command said it is sending more troops to battle a FARC dissident group, Comandos de la Frontera, or Frontier Commandos.

Soldiers of the 19th Napo Jungle Brigade on patrol in Orellana Province.

According to the army, the soldiers were on a mission to dismantle illegal Amazon gold mines when they were ambushed in a ravine by the Commandos. “It was a surprise attack and because of the steep terrain, our soldiers had difficulty fighting back,” an officer with the 19th Napo Jungle Brigade reported. “The Commandos dropped hand grenades and dynamite on top of them and there was no escape, and little opportunity to fire back.”

One Commando was reported killed during the attack

Because of the explosions, the army said many of the bodies were mutilated beyond recognition. The bodies have been taken to the Forensic Center in Lago Agrio for identification.

The victims were part of a 40-man unit searching for and destroying illegal mining equipment in the Alto Punino sector of Orellana Province, near the Colombian border, when they were ambushed. The Ministry of Mining, which coordinated the operation with the army, had identified at least five illegal mines in the area. “The viciousness of the attack shows the type of criminals we are confronting and the extent they will go to to protect their operations,” the ministry said in a statement Friday night.

The army describes the Border Commandos as a heavily armed criminal organization that operates along the Colombia-Ecuador border and in several northern Ecuadorian provinces. The group refused to recognize the peace agreement between FARC rebels and the Colombian government and is involved in cocaine production, money laundering, arms trafficking and illegal mining, the army says. In Ecuador, prosecutors say the Commandos are associated with the Los Lobos criminal gang.

On Saturday morning, President Daniel Noboa decreed three days of mourning for the fallen soldiers and said the attackers would not go unpunished. “We will hunt down those responsible and finish them off,” he said in a statement.

A trial is currently underway in Quito of 17 alleged Commandos arrested on drug trafficking and illegal arms charges in August 2024.