Iris Marin, head of the office, told reporters that "six minors who had been victims of forced recruitment" died in the operation ordered by President Gustavo Petro, who is under US pressure to crack down on drug trafficking.

Colombia's military announced on Tuesday that it had carried out airstrikes in the Amazon region in the early hours of November 10, killing 19 members of an ex-FARC splinter group.

The military also reported the "rescue" of three minors from rebel hands following the bombing.

Additionally, a defense ministry source told AFP on Friday that the military had killed nine suspected guerrillas in strikes in Arauca province, near the Venezuelan border.

The operations are part of Petro's intensifying attacks against armed groups involved in cocaine trafficking, following fierce criticism from US President Donald Trump over his alleged inaction on drug production.

In a Saturday post on X, Petro defended the military's actions in the Amazon operation.

"Of course, every death is regrettable, especially those of minors. But if I had let Ivan Mordisco's 150 men advance through the jungle, they would have ambushed 20 young soldiers who were stationed just a few kilometers ahead," the leftist president said.

"I made the decision, at a risk, to save their lives. It's easy to stain maps red; it's hard to acknowledge the risks of reclaiming territory," Petro added.

The president has launched a manhunt with million-dollar rewards to capture Mordisco, whom he likens to cocaine baron Pablo Escobar, who was slain in 1993.

Local media reported that authorities were investigating whether the latest strike killed Antonio Medina, a high-ranking rebel commander responsible for a bloody war between ex-FARC fighters and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group.

- Pressure from US -

Colombia's president has been facing pre-election criticism and US sanctions for his alleged reluctance to target armed cocaine-trafficking groups.

In October, Washington slapped unprecedented sanctions on Petro, his wife, son, and a top aide, accusing them of enabling drug cartels.

The US government provided no evidence linking Petro directly to drug trafficking.

Since taking power in 2022, Petro, himself a former guerrilla, had previously opted to engage well-armed cocaine-producing groups in talks, rather than conduct open warfare.

He is constitutionally barred from running for president again, but the criticism risks damaging his political allies during next year's elections.

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