BOGOTÁ, Dec 23, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The 18 Colombian soldiers who were kidnapped while conducting an operation against the ELN guerrilla group have been released, according to the Ombudsman's Office.

The troops had been surrounded by "nearly 200 people and forcibly transferred, against their will, to an indigenous reservation" in Choco Department in the country's northwest, near the border with Panama, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Sunday.

Residents handed over the soldiers on Monday to a humanitarian commission made up of representatives from the Catholic Church and the Ombudsman's Office, according to a social media post by the state agency in charge of protecting human rights.

The troops were being transferred to Choco's capital Quibdo.

A video released by the Ombudsman's Office showed the soldiers collecting their tactical equipment and weapons.

The ELN, or National Liberation Army, controls key drug-producing regions of Colombia, which is grappling with its worst security crisis in a decade, fueled by criminal groups profiting from trafficking, extortion and illegal mining.

Founded in 1964 and inspired by the Cuban revolution, the ELN is the oldest surviving guerrilla group in the Americas, and is challenging leftist President Gustavo Petro after peace talks failed.

Negotiations between the Petro administration and the ELN have stalled since last year.

US President Donald Trump warned recently that Colombia could be "next," following his pressure campaign against Venezuela and its leftist leader Nicolas Maduro.

The ELN conducted two attacks against security forces last week, one of which took place in the southwestern city of Cali, and left nine police and military personnel dead.

It is common for military and police personnel to be temporarily detained in areas of Colombia controlled by armed groups that lack government oversight.

The defense minister earlier condemned the kidnapping of the troops, saying that restricting military operations puts local communities at "serious risk."

In September, 72 soldiers were detained by hundreds of residents in the Micay Canyon, an enclave for cocaine production dominated by dissident rebels from the now-defunct FARC group.

A month earlier, 33 uniformed personnel were freed after being held for three days in the department of Guaviare.