In a Conflict that Crosses Borders, Ecuadorans Track an Elusive Foe

At the guard post and camp that Capt. Pozo and his soldiers came across on the third day, there were signs -- such as a half-filled coffee cup -- that the guerrillas had been there earlier in the day. There were six bags of food, including rice, beans and chocolate, and hunks of freshly sliced cow's hooves in a wooden structure protected from rain by a plastic tarp.

The soldiers estimated that the camp housed 40 to 50 guerrillas, based on its size and the intensive construction, such as a network of wooden stairs. "They can see us, but it's not prudent for them to attack us -- they don't want problems with the Ecuadoran army," said Cpl. Jerson Barahona. "This is like a vacation spot for the guerrillas. They have doctors and clinics. They come here to be treated. They rest. They manufacture their supplies."

The soldiers usually eat rice and tuna, cooked over fires they light in empty tuna cans using rubbing alcohol, candle wax and toilet paper. That night, they ate the guerrillas' beef and their canned sardines. Then they slung their hammocks between trees to sleep in the home of their enemy.

Tight-Lipped Locals

The next afternoon, for the first time, they spotted civilization in the form of a cornfield. They were near the San Miguel River and had stumbled upon a farm. After searching unsuccessfully for coca plants, they walked to the simple house, spray-painted with SX for "Sovereignty 10," the name of the Ecuadoran mission, which told them another patrol had passed by. The husband was off working; the wife said little. Yes, the guerrillas pass by, she said, but they leave us alone. Why are you bothering us?

"They never give us information. Never. But they are complicit with the guerrillas," Barahona said of the farmers along the border. "That's what makes it so hard. The guerrillas operate either by gaining support or by intimidation. If you anger them, they'll kill you."

Over the next two days, the soldiers encountered similar scenes. At a locked wooden shack in the woods they found a generator, gasoline and riverboat supplies. "Whose is it if it's not the guerrillas'?" asked Sgt. Edvin Maldonado. At the farm nearby, the family said the supplies were for innocent purposes.

When they reached the San Miguel River, Capt. Pozo sat on a log and looked across the green water to the jungle on the other side. "That's Colombia," he said. "We can't go there."

"For us, this is like a cancer. It's like living with a chronic illness," 1st Sgt. Richard Muñoz said of the guerrillas. "We are a peaceful country. We want to eliminate all of them, burn every camp. We are not supporting anyone. In the beginning, they were guerrillas. Now, for me, they are terrorists. They kill innocent people. They kidnap. They traffic drugs."

On Saturday morning, the soldiers summoned a helicopter to take them home. It landed on a rocky beach along a branch of the river. They knew these missions would not defeat the guerrillas, but they hoped they were making the guerrillas' lives more difficult. In single file, they stepped up into the helicopter and snapped pictures of themselves as it rose into the air. When they looked out the windows, the unbroken jungle stretched as far as they could see.