3.4. State response

3.4. State response

Between January and November 2025, the army has conducted 146 military operations in Chocó, leading to the detention of over 150 members of illegal armed groups.426 Without providing further detail, the Minister of Defence indicated, in November 2025, that the military and the police have increased operations against criminal groups by 20 % in 2025.⁴²⁷ In October 2025, the army launched its first battalion of armed drones to combat illegal armed groups.428 The battalion consists of 400 pilots and a similar number of drones, which are reportedly equipped with artificial intelligence and the capacity to conduct facial recognition, follow vehicles, and fly for about 45 minutes.429

Sources pointed to a lack of state presence in many areas of the country, particularly the Pacific coast.430 A fact-finding mission report on Colombia published by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides, OFPRA) quoted a local government source as indicating that in some areas of Tumaco, for example Nariño, authorities are unable to collect the bodies of deceased persons due to the lack of access routes and the security situation.431 The state's monopoly on the use of force is described as 'limited' due to the presence of a broad range of non-state armed groups that contest territory and dominate in some areas,432 particularly remote rural areas.433