The Colombia army set adrift hundreds of illuminating balls in the country’s main jungle rivers to convince FARC guerrillas to demobilize before Christmas.
The operation, dubbed “Rivers of Light” was developed with British public relations company Lowe and Partners and groups of former FARC guerrillas to ascertain key river routes used by FARC for their transportation in different parts of Colombia, a press release by the British company said.
According to Lowe and Partners, “Army, Navy and Air Force kicked off this operation in order to carry messages and gifts from relatives and friends of FARC guerrillas, inviting them to demobilize for Christmas. The emotional messages and gifts were placed in hundreds of transparent, illuminated plastic balls, transported in boats and helicopters to be ignited and released in different rivers, known to be frequented by FARC.”
“In south west Colombia, where rivers are not as commonly used by FARC, Christmas messages were hung in trees along the corridors that the guerrillas often use,” the PR company added.
The balls carry the message “Do not miss this Christmas. Colombia and your family are waiting for you. Demobilize At Christmas — everything is possible.”
The operation was performed by one army detachment (15 soldiers), 4 piranha boats from the Navy and 24 of its soldiers, and one black hawk helicopter from the Air Force and its crew.
Last year, the Armed Forces conducted a similar offensive, dubbed “Operation Christmas.” During this operation, members of the armed forces decorated trees in the jungles with Christmas lights that were activated by movement-sensitive sensors.
