Nine soldiers have died in Colombia's northern Bolivar Department after a helicopter carrying supplies to government troops participating in an operation against the country's largest drug cartel crashed. President of Colombia Gustavo Petro informed about this.

"I am sorry for the death of nine members of the helicopter crew, who were participating in the supply of government troops in the south of Bolivar Department, during the operation against the Gulf Clan cartel," Petro wrote on X—formerly Twitter.

The Gulf Clan is a well-known Colombian criminal gang, currently the country's largest drug cartel and actively participates in the internal armed conflict that has been going on in Colombia for many years.