Colombia: 10 Dead as FARC Camp Bombed by Colombian Police, Military During Operation Targeting Ivan Mordisco

The camp of Colombia's rebel group FARC has been "bombed" during a joint operation by Colombian police and military, killing at least 10 people.

According to BBC News, Colombian police and military were targeting a man named Ivan Mordisco, who is believed to be the first commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to turn his back on the 2016 peace deal. He has been leading dissident guerillas in southern Colombia ever since.

Local media reported that nearly 300 soldiers and police moved into the camp in the southern Caquetá region after the Air Force first bombed it. Dubbed Jupiter, the operation has reportedly been planned for two months.

The identity of those killed has not yet been confirmed. However, officials said they counted six men and four women who were members of the dissident FARC rebel group.

Police noted that they had information that Mordisco was in the FARC camp. It is unclear if he was among those killed in the bombing.

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC

It was not the first time Colombia's law enforcement bombed the dissident group. In 2019, Colombian troops launched an air raid against FARC, which killed nine dissidents.

Al Jazeera reported that it was the first air strike since the group's former leaders rejected the 2016 peace agreement and announced a return to arms.

Colombia's President Ivan Duque said at the time that he gave the go signal for the military operation in Colombia's south rural area.

Duque named one person who died during the air strike. It was a rebel known by his alias Gildardo Cucho. The Colombian president said the rebel was part of a group that former FARC commander Luciano Marino was looking to recruit to another rebel faction.

Duque noted that Gildardi Cucho was a leader in the said organization while citing the troop's "strategic, meticulous, impeccable, and rigorous work." The group FARC are Marxist rebels who waged war against the Colombian government for more than five decades.

The rebel group signed a peace deal with the government in 2016, prompting a huge number of its members to follow the peace deal. However, some backed out of the agreement and continued fighting, which included Ivan Mordisco.

Ivan Mordisco

Ivan Mordisco, with a real name Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernández, assumed the leadership of FARC after the death of Miguel Botache Santillana, alias "Gentil Duarte," in Venezuela in May 2022.

Mordisco started his criminal activities when he joined FARC in the late 1990s. At first, he was a foot soldier and quickly became a sniper and explosives expert.

He temporarily served as commander of the First Front in 2008 after its leader Gerardo Aguilar, alias "Cesar," was captured, according to an InsightCrime report.

Army Special Anti-Drug Trafficking Brigade had Mordisco in their custody in 2015 for a short time. He was captured in a rural area of Miraflores municipality.

He was then released with details remaining to be unclear. Mordisco was known to be a violent leader with "disdain for civilian populations."

He also played a prominent role in Gentil Duarte's plan to combine FARC dissidents. Ivan Mordisco was reportedly assigned to run the operation in northern Colombia.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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