The main dissident leader of the former FARC guerrilla, Néstor Vera, alias “Iván Mordisco”, was killed along with nine other rebels in an attack by the Colombian army in southwestern Colombia, the country’s defense minister announced Friday.
“This operation, which made it possible to neutralize nine individuals from this first front of the FARC dissidence [Forças Armadas Revolucionárias da Colômbia] and the neutralization of ‘Iván Mordisco’allows us to point out that this was an operation in which the last great leader of the FARC fell and constitutes a final blow for the dissidence”, Minister Diego Molano said at a press conference in Bogotá.
In 2016, a historic peace agreement between the Government of Bogotá and the FARC converted the guerrilla formation into a legal political party and considerably reduced violence, although numerous armed groups remain active in the country, including dissidents from this organization.
Last November the US Department of State removed FARC from list of foreign terrorist organizationsbut without changing its position regarding the judicial processes directed against former leaders of the Colombian ex-guerrilla.
However, a dissident group rejected the ceasefire conditions and continued the armed struggle, similar to the National Liberation Army (ELN), with its formations fighting each other in different regions of the country.
The ELN guerrilla began peace talks with Bogotá in 2018, but these were interrupted after an attack on a police academy that left 23 dead.
At the same time, dozens of social activists and former FARC guerrillas who have laid down their arms have been assassinated in the last five years, in actions attributed to far-right paramilitary groups with the alleged participation of the security forces.
On June 19, Gustavo Petro was elected the first left-wing president in the history of Colombia, obtaining 50.47% of the votes in the second round of the elections, defeating the right-wing candidate Rodolfo Hernández, who won the 47.27% of the votes. cast. .
Source: Observadora
