The ambush awaiting soldiers after the drone attack on the military base: how the terrorist assault unfolded in Ocaña, Norte de Santander

At 7:20 p.m. on September 4, routine activity at the Trapiche Military Canton outside Ocaña was shattered by the sound of unmanned aircraft. Explosive-laden drones flew over the strategic garrison in Norte de Santander and struck inside the military compound.

The attack triggered an immediate response. A platoon started its vehicles and left the base to search the surrounding area and neutralize the attackers. But the soldiers encountered a second threat outside the compound. Hidden in the darkness along the road, an armed group opened sustained fire on them, turning the operation into a deadly ambush.

The army identified the three soldiers killed in the attack as Captain Marco David Pirajón Montezuma and professional soldiers Joel Alberto Jiménez Jaramillo and Jhon Carlos Marrugo Manjarrez. Pirajón had served for 12 years after graduating as a second lieutenant from the General José María Córdova Military Cadet School in Bogotá. Jiménez and Marrugo had served for 10 and 17 years, respectively.

Pirajón was born in Sogamoso, while Jiménez was from Antioquia. Both died at the scene of the ambush. Marrugo was among five wounded soldiers taken urgently to the Emilio Cañizares Hospital in central Ocaña, where he died hours later.