you got it the wrong way around, the article is saying that the kidnap special forces "defended" themselves when the guards of the president attacked the invading kidnappers. defended is a very positive word and aims to put this illegal infiltration, murder and kidnapping (war without a declaration) in a good light. as a clueless teen i used to not think about the substance and material conditions of things. if the overwhelming majority of news i see calls something "defended", i would be swayed. a lot of adults are still clueless, only able to barely survive under the massive stress and pressure that these systems create. they do not care about this nuance out of necessity. they need to survive. this sneaky wordplay is aimed at them.