Clashes in Colombia between rival rebel groups kill 27 people

According to military sources, at least 27 rebel members from a leftist group have been killed in clashes with a rival faction in central Colombia, which comes at a time when there is more conflict there due to US military action in Venezuela and threats against Colombia.

According to a military source, the clashes, which have been the most violent in recent months, took place on Sunday in the rural municipality of El Retorno in the Guaviare region of the Amazon, which is located 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Bogota.

The fight centered primarily on controlling territory because the area is crucial for cocaine production and trafficking, according to the army’s statement on Saturday on X.

A second military source identified a faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), led by Nestor Gregorio Vera, known as the nation’s most wanted man, known as Ivan Mordisco, and led by Alexander Diaz Mendoza, alias Calarca Cordoba, a second military source.

Due to internal disagreements, the two organizations were dissolved in April 2024 and were once a part of the so-called Central General Staff. The two military sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, allege that Vera’s group was responsible for the casualties. A Diaz’s group leader also confirmed the deaths of 27 people to Reuters.

According to Army sources, there were only preliminary fatalities.

After the government suspended a bilateral ceasefire, Vera’s group continues to attack civilians and security forces while Diaz’s group is currently in talks with left-wing President Gustavo Petro about ending it. A 2016 peace agreement that allowed roughly 13, 000 FARC members to renounce their armed conflict and reenter society after disarming had been rejected by these now-rival factions.

Petro has put pressure on rebel groups as elections are in four months and the opposition accuses him of being soft.

19 Mordisco followers were killed in an attack carried out by government forces in November.

Petro compared the elusive Mordisco to the late Pablo Escobar, a cocaine thief.

As tensions between the two long-standing allies escalated, the president and the United States have recently been at odds with one another.

After President Donald Trump threatened to follow up the US’s abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with an attack to topple or kill Petro, Petro and the latter exchanged harsh words.

However, the two leaders agreed to work together to combat drug trafficking last week and eased tensions.

In response to Trump’s threats of intervention, Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN), a left-wing rebel organization and the country’s largest remaining rebel force, has been gearing up for battle.