Original subtitles

FIRST LINE OF COMBAT IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING

THIRD DIVISION, COLOMBIAN NATIONAL ARMY MICAY CANYON

Throughout this journey, we've had death by our side,

breathing down our necks.

At all times.

I don't know whether we noticed, but that's the way it was.

In the name of the Father, the Son...

You feel it, you hear it, you smell it.

It's struggle, it's sweat.

It's like a fog, an evil that permeates everything.

Prepare your equipment, your vest and your rifle.

It's a trench.

It's day and night,

seeing the enemy a few steps away, a few inches away.

And they hear us, smell us, see us.

After 25 years

fighting drug trafficking and organized crime,

at this point in my life,

I need to understand

the origin of all this.

BUENAVENTURA COLOMBIAN PACIFIC

Buenaventura is basically the most important port in Colombia

for both legal and illegal goods.

The entire city exists to serve that business,

but everything generated by the port disappears, it doesn't benefit the city.

The city lives, survives, rather,

on what it can, on the crumbs of these comings and goings.

Go, Juanito.

We can have a competition.

Breathe well.

Five breaths in and out, until you feel a little dizziness

and descend at the same time on the pole

when I say "go." Let's see who's the last one up.

Inhale deep and dive.

This is how the professionals swim.

- Ten seconds, eight. - Me.

A motor on his feet.

Extortions, murders, disappearances.

How can they normalize situations that are not normal at all?

How do they survive all that constant fear?

It's hard to understand without living with them, around them all the time.

I've been here for two days

and I understand less and less.

Authorities seized eight tons of cocaine

concealed in mineral fertilizer and manure,

ready to be shipped from Buenaventura to Toledo, Spain.

1,200 kilometers off the coast of Martinique,

the National Navy intercepted ten-and-a-half tons of drugs.

In South America, two other shipments were intercepted

which were bound for Rotterdam.

Brazilian police have seized 47 planes

in an operation against international drug trafficking.

The cargo, valued at 453 million euros

on the European market, was hidden in a container.

...and the government's struggle

to manage this entire conflict has failed.

What's going to be the objective?

Okay, perfect.

- News? - Yeah, I've just been informed

that there's a residence with about five or six heavily armed subjects.

We're going to confirm whether this information is real or not.

- And if it's real, we strike. - That's right.

To situate myself topographically, where are we?

Buenaventura consists of a mainland part and an island part.

Now we're here, on the island part of Buenaventura.

Right here.

A certain area, called Comuna 6,

is where the Spartan faction is involved in crimes.

And from here to Comuna 12,

the Shotta faction is involved in crime.

Are you an intelligence officer?

Intelligence officer from Buenaventura GAULA unit of the National Navy.

We combat kidnapping and extortion.

They use firearms, small arms, long guns,

to intimidate the population.

Those are the threats the drug trafficking groups use in Buenaventura,

fighting for the drug routes

and territorial control at the port.

This is a message to the community!

No one who is not from here is going to enter!

No one is going to enter our territory!

No one!

We fight for drugs, for locations. Do you understand me?

And they want to take more than that.

They want to put taxes on our neighborhood.

God save you, Mary, full of grace.

The Lord is with you.

Blessed art you among all women

and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and in the hour of our death, amen.

This is a neighborhood,

a vulnerable sector of the city of Buenaventura.

Their own bodies have suffered

the pains of war,

of violence,

and, above all, they've lost family members.

There are two gangs.

The Shottas and the Spartans.

There are two groups contesting the territory

and any street might be a border between the gangs.

We call those "invisible borders" because they're not marked,

but people know that from here to there

it's Spartans and over there is Shottas,

and that makes it very difficult

to move from one neighborhood to another.

Is it totally forbidden to cross an invisible border?

- Crossing the borders is part of life. - Part of life?

Oh, merciful one! Oh, compassionate one!

These groups do not deal directly with the Colombian state.

They're not political groups.

They just seek money.

Through various avenues, extortion, robbery, kidnapping, disappearance,

drug trafficking, the black market, gold,

timber, fish.

They're taking control of more and more...

- The whole economy? - All of it.

Unfortunately, due to the circumstances,

there are groups that see shopkeepers

as an opportunity

to do business.

They asked me for 120 million pesos.

At the time, I didn't have it.

I didn't have anything.

However, you think a lot

about your family, your children,

obviously not letting anything happen to them,

because they become a military target.

That's how they put pressure on you.

"If you don't pay,

we'll strap explosives to you or kill some employee.

Or make you leave the city."

For all the families who suffer persecution,

Eternal Father, I offer you the body, the blood,

the soul and the divinity of your most beloved son,

our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sadly, my family is elsewhere.

They come for a short time.

The come for a week, two weeks, and that's it,

because usually the city has

really high spikes in violence

when the criminal gangs confront each other

and shut down all the neighborhoods.

- It's a very high toll. - Very high.

It's hard to think about... I have a family, I have children.

Thinking about something like that,

being separated from them, having to decide

that they can't be with me because it's safer,

it would be really hard.

What we feel is fear.

Fear that an armed person, at some point,

might end your life because you don't have the resources to pay.

Blessed are you among all women...

Every day there's extortion.

Every day there's intimidation, especially against shopkeepers.

These groups come into

the shop of a small business owner, or medium or big business owner,

and start asking for gifts, money,

in order that they not attack their business

or their families, because they also do intelligence, criminally.

This is famously called "scam"?

It's extortion. "Scam" is a bad word for it,

because it's extortion.

- Extortion. - Yes.

They are asking you to assist us with two million pesos.

It is an obligation to cooperate.

When I order your loved ones killed, I'll come back and call you.

BUENAVENTURA CENTRAL PRISON

Take note that I have located your family.

At this time, I declare you a military target.

The information that we have

is that they make extortion calls to shopkeepers from prison.

And make demands of them, intimidating them from prison.

This is where we come in, because we fight extortion.

So, as is our mission, we have to go in

to try to prevent them

from committing these kinds of crimes from the prisons.

It's difficult.

They continue doing business from their own cells.

They keep committing crimes. Of course.

How long since you've seen your children?

I see them every 15 days.

Every 15 days, and they say to me,

"Why don't you stay a week or two?"

- It's hard, isn't it? - Yes, and...

It's hard.

Those of us who have children know how it is.

It's been the hardest part.

Having to abandon one's family.

But I believe in this city, I believe in Buenaventura

and I believe that someday, because there are more good people,

this will change.

But that part, yes, it moves the fiber a lot. The kids...

There are lots of shopkeepers in the same situation.

They have to abandon their families, and it's painful.

It's painful for everyone.

If you want, you can come down and verify what they're doing.

They're checking if there are weapons or possible weapons,

how deadly the weapons are.

That bag is nothing, right?

There it is, just cables.

They're cables.

Listen, sir, I wanted to ask you...

A tactical operative has a sixth sense

when an operation is getting tense.

He doesn't need to be told.

Just looking at gestures, general movements, news,

the way the day unfolds,

you know something is setting up.

You don't know when or where, but it's going to be imminent.

You see, this...

What movement has there been in recent days, last night?

What are you saying?

Imagine, they were talking there.

Where they were, they were moving around a lot

Lots of motorbikes came through, cars of unknown people.

Fifteen or 20 guys from other neighborhoods and so on.

Right. We are affirmative on the issue.

Yes, of course. These guys are armed.

And they're loaded with long guns.

Around how many long guns have you seen?

About three long guns and pistols over there.

They take the long ones out at night, patrolling the grounds, the property.

Lord Jesus Christ, beloved Father,

guide of all that happens in this earthly world,

we ask you to accompany us in these proceedings

and to protect us with your blood

from the actions of our enemy, from witchcraft, from magic,

and carry us to victory.

May we all return safe and sound.

- Amen. - Amen.

Let me take a look at your gear. Is it tight?

- Yes. - The plate has to properly cover

your whole midsection.

And the one on your back should be higher. Let me see.

Okay.

Nothing rattling, nothing that falls.

- This carabiner makes a lot of noise. - Take it off.

- Comfortable? - Well...

The vest and everything...

You're doing well.

They'll come out strong, guns blazing.

Totally normal.

I'd expect no less from an operation of this kind.

Mounted up, safety off.

There are no more. I miss having one.

- Get me one. - You can't do that.

- It's changed... The role. - The role.

At least we're already in the mix.

This is more like it.

Twenty-five years doing this. If it doesn't feel...

In five, four, three, two...

One. We start rolling.

Communications. Do you copy?

The latest information

is that suspicious people have been seen

in that sector, apparently guarding

or patrolling their territory.

There are probably armed confrontations between the two sides.

That's good.

Uncertainty.

These operations need to be carried out with a positive mindset.

Convinced that nothing will happen to you.

That's the crux of the matter.

Having complete confidence in yourself and your people.

Where's the house?

Come on.

The lines. Car!

Whatever comes will come,

but that positive mindset is essential.

It's an indispensable aura that nearly gives you wings.

Clear?

Don't move!

- Don't move! - Nobody move!

Go, go.

Don't move!

Don't move! Eyes on the ground.

Clear.

- Should we not turn on the light? - Turn it on.

John, confirm for me. Are you in the place?

We're going to secure the area. Let's not stand around. Secure it.

Motorcycle and all, son of a bitch.

- I've got the documents... - Quiet!

- Did he toss something? - He threw something away.

Don't move. Look at the ground.

- We found it! - Leave it there.

- We didn't throw away anything. - It's nothing, it's okay.

- Bring what we found. - There.

You're going to break another?

- It was... loaded. - Loaded, yeah.

What would he be doing? Would that be a point?

Maybe, because he was coming on the motorcycle

and they said, "Let's go check it out."

He went over here. Down there. That's why the bike fell.

It ended up pulled over there.

And when they went to catch him, he ended up...

He got down there with the bike.

The bike is his. He came running from there and got in here.

That bike is mine.

- Is that yours as well? - No.

- Then why'd you run down the hill? - Because I'm a minor.

Because you're underage, yes.

Anything you say can be used against you.

You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford one...

The fact that this individual appeared on a motorcycle at that moment

may have facilitated the escape of those elements

who were in the residences according to the intelligence sources.

Human sources fail

often, too often.

Why?

Because they're unreliable and don't want to gamble.

They pass you information, sometimes they exaggerate what they have

in order to appear knowledgeable and ask for favors.

So human sources are always a tossup,

- they're not reliable. - Right.

These ones are even less reliable, from my point of view.

- How are you, Captain? - Good.

We got something.

The guy they arrested was carrying a gun.

He can be tried, he's over 14 years old.

We were going after a boss, a qualified target, as they say.

Of course they're not stupid.

They live this way. It's their modus operandi, their way of life.

Obviously, they've all been arrested.

They know how the police work and they size them up.

No one who's left is stupid.

Eternal Lord, protect us, on such a special day, Lord.

We give you thanks, Heavenly Father.

- Amen. - Amen.

PUENTE NAYERO BUENAVENTURA HUMANITARIAN ZONE

Puente Nayero, frankly, is nothing new, nothing different

from the ecosystem of so many sites I have visited

on multiple deployments.

It's not that different from Abidjan.

It's not that different from Kabul.

It's not that different from so many other places.

The unpaved streets, the poverty,

the trash,

the smell of methane that gets up your nose until you get used to it.

It's a landscape that has, I don't know,

almost a post-apocalyptic aspect.

Where nothing could develop, an ecosystem has grown, a society.

What those families who have gathered

in this protected humanitarian space have managed,

that's worth studying.

Flower, do you have any children?

Yes, sir.

- How many? - I have five boys

and three girls.

And they all live in Puente Nayero?

No, just one.

Named Shrimp, like what we're fishing for.

A very suitable name for the job.

Yes. it's good for fishing,

but the one in the United States is better.

When he was here, he was all-weather.

At night, during the day, in a downpour, whatever.

One time, we were fishing and armed groups arrived.

"Hey, give us that little net you've got there and those fish."

He said, "I'm not going to give it to you."

From then on, they were furious with him.

One day, the boss called him, "Luis, come."

And he went because he'd had no problem with him.

He shot him twice in the chest.

The police came and grabbed him and took him to the hospital.

That's why he fled to the United States?

Yes, because he was being threatened again.

Since he hadn't died, they were going to kill him.

- Don't you miss him? - I miss him because he's my son.

Anyway, every day I want to see him.

They have breakfast at 10:00. I see them.

- On my cell phone. - Better on the phone than...

- Yes. Yes, better via telephone than dead. - Than shot, right?

As for the dead, I don't visit anyone, I don't think of them. They're gone.

It's hard to understand from the comforts in which we live,

comparing ourselves to these people

and their vision of the future, or lack of it.

They coexist with violence and death

as something that exists and that's it.

And it's true. It's very pragmatic.

But they can't live outside the suffering

you get when a loved one disappears.

It's violence.

I've never lived in my own skin like that.

I can't imagine what it feels like.

This street used to be two bridges.

Where we're walking, it was sea.

Just the tide.

The surprise is that it was filled with trash.

It was the only option that there was.

- There was nothing else? Sand or... - No.

Mainly because the sand, or the little sand that we had

was already for the surface.

I'm imagining what it's like to live here, to be born here,

like you were, and to raise children.

To live a complete life.

- Honestly, it's a challenge. - Yeah.

It's a challenge here,

as we're completely abandoned by the state.

Practically, we're... We're nothing.

Do any of your close friends or family have problems with the gangs?

Yes, my cousin Alex left

with the gangs a long time ago

and we never saw him again.

And how do families deal with it?

From my point of view, I've seen families fall apart from pain,

because they need to mourn.

Let him come back, even as a corpse.

Yeah, that's the cruelest thing, because it wasn't just him,

it was his pregnant wife, too.

They took them all. To this day, they haven't returned.

It's not just the case with my cousin. It's something you see daily,

- I swear. - One of many.

It happens a lot in Buenaventura.

We're always mourning.

Why does this congregation exist?

They're mothers,

even the mothers of gang leaders go there.

They've told me that we're in a sort of agreed-upon peace process,

a ceasefire among gangs.

We had a very frenzied moment of violence in 2022.

Very intense. You couldn't go out on the street after 6:00 p.m.

Everyone locked themselves in.

Groups of hooded men on motorbikes armed with rifles

passed through the streets and they killed anyone who was out.

It was a very terrifying, violent situation,

and there was a meeting of the two gangs.

They called me to accompany them.

They wanted to stop the war, but they didn't know how.

I said, "Let's see. There are a lot of crimes here.

Let's talk about the four that most impact the community.

Let's talk about them. The homicides,

the invisible borders,

the robberies and the extortion.

Of those, which are you willing to give in on?"

They told me two.

"Let's end the murders and the invisible borders."

If we end those, there's mobility in the community.

- Life can return. - Life, freedom. Very important.

Do you think this peace is consolidated yet?

When I'm asked that, I always say one thing, and it's this.

The peace, or this agreement, or this truce is hanging by a thread.

- A very thin one. - By a spider's thread.

I don't know if I'm sticking my nose

where it's not wanted, but do you have an escort?

Who would threaten a man of peace?

That's what I wonder. Who'd threaten me? I know it's not them.

It's not the gangs. It's other powers that are behind them, and they're very big

and they're pulling the monster's strings.

But I can't talk about it because...

That's where the forces

that I call satanic evil act forcefully

because we touch their interests.

The advice I glean from the Monsignor,

as soon as you delve into this issue,

you realize that you're in the wolf's mouth,

in a dangerous place that no one invited you into.

We will tread carefully.

In the Los Angeles neighborhood, near Bonaventura's alternate road,

a mass grave was found, where they say

the body of Brenda Ordóñez Quiñones was buried,

who, according to her family, disappeared on January 9th.

The discovery was made thanks to an investigation

by various authorities.

This information comes from naval intelligence.

We receive it institutionally,

thanks to technical means...

Hello, boss, good afternoon. The report? Nothing special?

Okay. Yes, sir. I wanted to ask you

what we know about the murdered girl.

Yeah, the one we found on Saturday.

Michael is an intelligence agent,

and we're meeting here because he's going to give us context

about the murder of a woman

that triggered some murders, some acts of targeted killing.

That person was discovered in that hole

after they removed the earth. The body was dismembered.

Decapitated, the limbs had been removed

and, in blunt terms,

an incision had been made in the stomach.

We think it was done to remove the baby she was having.

Relatives say she was three months pregnant.

It's had a huge impact on the community,

because of the acts of violence that resulted from it.

There have been approximately nine homicides since that day.

Following the murder of this woman,

nine homicides have been carried out in three, four days.

That's correct.

We're seeing that it was a very unstable peace.

One disruptive element like this homicide and it changes the status quo.

Fighting over invisible borders continues as usual.

Right. Criminal territorial control is essential to these groups.

First, to demonstrate strength,

and second, to be able to finance themselves.

They need control over criminal activity in this area.

Attention.

Sit down, thank you.

From information from a collaborator with direct access to the target,

we are informed of two properties that are unnamed,

which, it appears, are used as temporary housing

for subjects belonging to the Shotta crime syndicate.

So, in this particular case, do we have information

that he may be armed?

Yes, we do have that information.

We're going after an area leader who's named in an arrest warrant.

We have information that he is always armed.

From the front, it's about nine meters.

Nine meters wide, the residence.

The door is at the front of the residence.

Approximately how many people living there?

The subject and two other people live in this residence.

That's his security plan.

Both of them are armed. One with a pistol and one with a revolver.

The two lines have to go up. First one and then the other.

First, you would go in to gain the surprise,

as soon as you hear the battering ram, you can escape via the roof or the side.

When I started, the war was hand-to-hand,

mass wars,

where these terrorist groups came in force.

Now it's mutated. The enemy can't defeat us

like they could before. The enemy is more cowardly.

It's more strapping a bomb on you, attacking treacherously.

The walls are drywall, not heavier material.

Be very careful because, if you're using the guns,

the shots can penetrate it.

Likewise, the enemy can reach the target and shoot us

from inside the rooms.

So why did you get involved in this battle?

I'm the son of a police officer.

And he served in the era of violence of the '80s, the '90s,

the fight with the cartels.

And I grew up seeing my dad,

that fight he had.

I have a ten-year-old boy.

He's growing up in this environment, like I was growing up in my dad's.

And I don't want him to have the hard experiences they're having.

You want to protect your child at all times.

We're going in with live ammunition.

You'll fire on my command. Everybody ready?

Military GAULA! Don't move!

Firing deep!

- Left clear! - Right clear!

- Support! - Enter left!

- Advance to the left. - I have a threat!

Don't move!

To the right. Advance!

Don't move!

We have to give them time to clear the rooms.

If we go in, we get in the way.

Don't stand facing the main corridor.

- This is two? - Yes, there are two.

- Killers? - Just one, the other went through me.

I was shot in the arm and in the leg.

I learned, well, that they broke one

and I saw my comrades die

due to mistakes or due to fate

or things that weren't done that should have been done.

I try to instill in them

that they do things right and not make the same mistakes.

Exactly.

Eagle coming out. I have the corridor.

They're evacuating the house.

The last ones are coming out. We'll put ourselves in the cone.

- Go. - I'm coming!

All of us who pass through Buenaventura have stories.

We've buried comrades here. We've buried friends here.

We left on an operation and not all of us returned.

It's really hard.

It's really hard.

We say it's part of the job, but that's the hardest.

It's the most difficult part of all.

- Shall we? - We're on our way.

The most dangerous moment today is when the line is ready

and the breacher is opening it up.

In that moment, when the element of surprise is lost

and the targets on the inside realize what is happening,

that's when you have to be most careful.

Even more so than when we're entering the residence, okay?

We're together at the end.

Back to back.

- Clear. - Clear.

It's still warm. They've just left.

I'm upstairs.

There you are.

- Did you see what turned up? - What?

A gun, a revolver.

It's a loaded revolver.

Appears to be in good condition.

Have you seen this?

- What is it? - A Bible.

They may be bandits, but...

What is it? What does it say?

Psalms 89:6.

"Oh, Jehovah, God of armies."

Very appropriate.

It looks like they've just left.

Yeah, because it still smells like they've been smoking marijuana.

You can smell it upstairs, on the third floor.

We're getting a strong smell of marijuana.

We think they had to leave recently.

You can't trust anyone in this world.

This is the second time we've tried to catch them and they're already gone.

The more you want to get at them,

the more they escape, the more they disappear.

I'm convinced they're not far away, but they're always one step ahead.

It makes you think.

Major, there, there you can enter here into the place.

I'm going to make you a video.

For now, I see only one guy.

He's in the house.

He's in the house, but not...

There he is.

You can see him there.

He's talking on the phone.

He has... It looks like a rifle.

It's a rifle, but I don't see anyone else out there.

What is it, Pelayo?

We don't know where we're going.

At all.

Zero-six and 24 minutes. We initiate movement towards contact.

Zero six and 24 minutes. Confirm one, two, three, four.

An intelligence point is marked. We know nothing more. Nothing.

A lot of people watching us arrive. Too many.

- Don't you move! - Stop! Don't move!

- Stop! - Don't move! Military GAULA.

National Navy. On the ground!

- Hold still! - Don't move, on the ground!

- Stay still. - Don't move!

- Don't move! Stop! - On the ground!

Stop. Hands behind your neck.

- No one else. - We're going around back.

- Help, over here. - For your safety and ours, hold still.

We're going around, we're going along the side.

- There. - On your knees.

Hands there, cross your legs.

I'm already with him.

- There are two? Two in custody? - Yes.

This rifle has turned up here. It was on the ground.

Check it.

Check the house for me.

- What's there? - A sawed-off shotgun.

Let's see.

Rifle, M16.

- It's old, but it's useful. - Yes, it is.

There's more.

- Ammunition. - Ammunition.

- A shotgun. Yeah, mounted. - Loaded?

- Okay. - A shotgun.

- Is that the pistol they found? - A revolver, yes.

More pistols, a Glock 17 or 19.

- Seventeen. - A Parabellum and a Beretta.

- More ammunition. - Ammunition?

- There's the other. - I'm coming.

- Should I take it? - Over there.

Hey, stand up.

How are you going to run right now?

- I'll take it. - Hold onto it.

We already have the phones. They have to be analyzed.

Take them.

Come quick, man.

This one, escaping, tossed a rifle into the jungle.

It was loaded and everything, a Colt 5.56.

And here there was...

There was one more rifle here,

a shotgun, ammunition, an M16. So far this is what's turned up.

And a revolver. The one who was escaping that way, the second guy.

Two targets arrested.

They had quite a stash.

It was to be given to the gangs in this sector,

for the clashes they have.

This weaponry was intended for the local gangs.

The local gangs, I would imagine.

The objective was reached, thank God.

Yeah, we've removed a lot of weapons from circulation.

We've saved lives.

The rifles are up top.

Fucking awesome.

The bad guys are dedicated to this. It's their way of life.

They're not going to make it easy.

You have to use all your experience, your wits, everything you can

to get to them. It's never easy.

The secret is to have perseverance.

If you're like a hammer, banging, banging, little by little you'll get there.

Success always comes.

It's a matter of time.

So, Pelayo, how does your journey continue?

Who knows? For the moment, I'm here.

But I am sure that I'll end up in Naya.

- You know it? - Yes, I do indeed.

My whole family is from over there.

And the truth is, the situation isn't very good these days

to go over there.

There was also a massacre recently.

They killed 12 people, seven men, five women.

Who?

The groups that live there.

The groups that are there. The FARC or the ELN.

I'd advise you to go in carefully,

because it might put your integrity at risk.

Blessed are you among women

and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,

now and in the hour of our death.

Amen. Pelayo, have a good journey.

May God be with him and all his friends.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The higher we ascend,

the higher we rise, the more danger there will be.

We may not be seeing that devil directly yet,

but we already clearly feel his breath very close.