As the troops attempted to withdraw, Cubides said, members of the community blocked their exit, cut off access to food and water, and refused to let them move. But this is not a detention, it is a kidnapping, because they are being held against their will,” Sánchez told reporters in Bogotá. This is not the first time Colombian troops have been detained by civilians under pressure from dissident groups. In June, 57 soldiers were surrounded and held for two days in El Tambo, Cauca, during another operation against the EMC. At the time, authorities denounced the incident as an attempt by armed groups to use communities as leverage against the state.