Tag Archives: Colombia

Iván Márquez Survives Attack but FARC Dissidents Remain on the Run

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Iván Márquez, one of the leaders of the FARC dissidents known as the Second Marquetalia.

Iván Márquez, one of the leaders of the FARC dissidents known as the Second Marquetalia.

“Márquez ‘is being protected by the Maduro regime.’ Colombia’s Minister of Defense indicated that Márquez was part of a confrontation and that in ‘that dispute, one of these vendettas occurred in which his integrity was affected.’”

Colombia’s leading weekly magazine Semana recently published rumors that Iván Márquez, the leader of peace negotiations with the Colombian government who later returned to arms, had been killed (see “Colombian Military Continues To Forcefully Dismantle FARC Dissident Structure,” OE Watch, Issue 4). This news story played for two weeks in the wake of the previous assassinations of at least four FARC commanders in the same border area.  However, according to Spanish-language CNN Español, Colombia’s intelligence service says Márquez survived the attack and the outlet reports that Márquez is convalescing in a hospital in Caracas, protected by Venezuela’s Maduro regime.  CNN Español also reports that FARC dissidents later released a video confirming the attack on Márquez and his subsequent survival.  Although Márquez apparently survived, changing circumstances on the ground and a string of recent assassinations suggest that the various organizations of FARC dissidents continue to lose ground to Colombia’s National Liberation Army and rival criminal groups, including the Tren de Aragua and Mexican cartels.

Source:

“Urgente: Fuentes venezolanas le confirman a SEMANA que Iván Márquez sí está muerto (Urgent: Venezuelan sources confirm to SEMANA that Iván Márquez is indeed dead),” Semana (Colombia’s leading weekly magazine), 2 July 2022.  https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/urgente-fuentes-venezolanas-le-confirman-a-semana-que-ivan-marquez-si-esta-muerto/202250/

In Venezuela, in the middle of an attack, Iván Márquez, maximum leader of the FARC dissidents of the so-called Second Marquetalia, died.  According to the information known about the event, he fell in the middle of an attack.  It transpired that Márquez’s death occurred in the midst of a brutal war that is being waged in Venezuelan territory between criminal organizations to keep control of the illicit drug business, especially in the border area with Colombia.

Source: “‘Iván Márquez’ se encuentra en un hospital de Caracas y es ‘protegido por el régimen de Maduro,’ afirma el ministro de Defensa de Colombia (‘Iván Márquez’ is in a hospital in Caracas and is ‘protected by the Maduro regime,’ says the Colombian Defense Minister),” CNN Español (Spanish-language outlet of the popular American news site), 13 July 2022. https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2022/07/13/ivan-marquez-se-encuentra-en-un-hospital-de-caracas-y-es-protegido-por-el-regimen-de-maduro-afirma-el-ministro-de-defensa-de-colombia-orix/

Colombia’s Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, said on Wednesday that he has been informed by Colombia’s intelligence services that Luciano Marín Arango, “Iván Márquez,” one of the leaders of the dissidents of the FARC, is in a hospital in Venezuela.  Speaking to several journalists in Bogotá, Molano said that Márquez “is being protected by the Maduro regime.”  The official indicated that Márquez was part of a confrontation and that in “that dispute, one of these vendettas occurred in which his integrity was affected.”  Days ago, the FARC dissidents… assured in a video that on June 30th Márquez “was the victim of a criminal attack directed from the army barracks and the commandos of the police” and that “luckily he was unharmed.”

Image Information:

Image:  Iván Márquez, one of the leaders of the FARC dissidents known as the Second Marquetalia.
Source:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ivan-Marquez-GoraHerria.jpg
Attribution:  CC BY-SA 4.0

Murder of Paraguayan Prosecutor in Colombia Suggests Transnational Criminal Cooperation

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Brazilian Police have faced stiff resistance in the face of a sophisticated and expanding PCC.

Brazilian Police have faced stiff resistance in the face of a sophisticated and expanding PCC.

“The prosecutor was leading one of the largest anti-mafia operations in the history of Paraguay, a key country in the region’s drug trafficking network.”

Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci was recently murdered on the Island of Barú while on honeymoon with his wife.  The young prosecutor, who specialized in organized crime, had a reputation for pursuing cases related to transnational criminal organizations and money laundering.  His brutal murder, far from Paraguay, shocked the nation and hinted at a highly organized and motivated set of criminal organizations operating in conjunction.  Five suspects, one Venezuelan and four Colombians, have been arrested and prosecuted for the crime, according to reporting in Spain’s top newspaper El País.  The BBC’s Spanish-language news service BBC Español further reports that the hit was likely organized by the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), Brazil’s largest and most sophisticated criminal organization.  The PCC uses Paraguay’s relatively ungoverned tri-border area as a hub for smuggling and money laundering.  Pecci was conducting one of the largest investigations into criminal organizations in Paraguay’s history.  The cross-continent operation displays a remarkable level of criminal coordination and sophistication.  It also shows the extent to which Paraguay risks becoming a state held hostage by criminal interests operating in its much larger neighbor.  Finally, Pecci’s assassination highlights the persistent inability of Latin America’s governments to protect prosecutors, police, and politicians pursuing anti-corruption agendas.

Source:

“Capturan a los presuntos asesinos del fiscal Marcelo Pecci (The capture of alleged murderers of prosecutor Marcelo Pecci),” El País (Spain’s top newspaper with comprehensive coverage of Latin America), 3 June 2022.  https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2022-06-03/capturan-a-los-presuntos-asesinos-del-fiscal-marcelo-pecci.html

Pecci was a specialized prosecutor against organized crime in Paraguay and was in charge of several of the most important drug trafficking and money laundering cases in that country…Without committing to a hypothesis, the director of the Colombian Police, General Jorge Vargas, said that ‘two of the main investigations carried out by prosecutor Pecci in Latin America were against the Primeiro Comanda da Capital—the most powerful group of organized crime in Brazil and South America—and the structure known as Point 50, in the south of the continent.’ 

Source:  “Marcelo Pecci: las nuevas evidencias sobre el asesinato del fiscal paraguayo (Marcelo Pecci: the new evidence on the murder of the Paraguayan prosecutor),” BBC Español (the Spanish-language version of the popular British outlet), 8 June 2022.  https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-61741012  

Pecci was enjoying his honeymoon with his wife in the tourist town of Barú, near Cartagena, when he dismounted a jet ski and a gunman shot him.  The prosecutor was leading one of the largest anti-mafia operations in the history of Paraguay, a key country in the region’s drug trafficking network.

Image Information:

Image:  Brazilian Police have faced stiff resistance in the face of a sophisticated and expanding PCC.
Source:  Wikimedia,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File :A_group_of_police_officers_at_2004_Brazilian_Grand_Prix.JPG
Attribution:  CC BY-SA 2.5

Mexican Cartels Buying Land on Colombia-Venezuela Border

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A coca plantation of the kind found on the Colombia-Venezuela border.

“The first thing the cartels ask is if the farm has a landing strip because that gives the property a very high price.”

Mexican criminal organizations have ambitions to transform much of South America’s drug trade through a robust physical presence in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.  Previously, emissaries of Mexican criminal organizations had arrived at the Colombia-Venezuela border in an attempt to mediate disputes between local drug gangs (see “Colombian Military Continues to Forcefully Dismantle FARC Dissident Structures,” OE Watch, #4, 2022).  However, according to one of Argentina’s leading news sites, Infobae, the presence of Mexican cartels extends well beyond mediation.  Under the guise of oil exploration, Infobae reports how Mexican criminal organizations are driving a real estate frenzy on the Colombia-Venezuela border.  Farmland with a landing strip is especially valued, since it gives drug flights the ability to land and take off near production and storage facilities.  Large farms with landing strips are common because the roads are blocked during the rainy season and prevent farmers from getting their harvest to market.  Another Infobae report indicates that Mexican cartels in the borderland have started to transform Colombia’s drug production as well.  Specifically, Mexican cartels have introduced coca plants that yield greater harvests while requiring fewer hectares under cultivation.  Mexican cartels that used to work with local criminal organizations are becoming more globally minded in an effort to cut out middlemen and other major players.

Source:

“Alarma por el crecimiento de la compra y venta de ganado del narcotráfico y la guerrilla en Venezuela con participación de militares y políticos (Alarm over the growth of the purchase and sale of property from drug trafficking in Venezuela with the participation of the military and politicians),” Infobae (one of Argentina’s leading news sites), 28 April 2022.  https://www.infobae.com/america/venezuela/2022/04/28/alarma-por-el-crecimiento-de-la-compra-y-venta-de-ganado-del-narcotrafico-y-la-guerrilla-en-venezuela-con-participacion-de-militares-y-politicos/

There is a boom in the acquisition of properties by…Mexicans in the states of Apure, Guárico, Anzoátegui and Bolívar, with money of unknown origin…The first thing the cartels ask is if the farm has a landing strip because that gives the property a very high price.  The presence of Mexicans…has the excuse that they are interested in oil exploitation…For years, farmers have had airplanes mainly because in the rainy season, the roads are obstructed…Now, there are landing strips everywhere and aircraft landing and taking off at any time.

Source:  “Cómo el Cártel de Sinaloa y el CJNG han innovado la producción de cocaína en Colombia (How the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG have innovated cocaine production in Colombia),” Infobae (one of Argentina’s leading news sites), 11 May 2022.   https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2022/05/11/como-el-cartel-de-sinaloa-y-el-cjng-han-innovado-la-produccion-de-cocaina-en-colombia/ 

As if they were administrators of legal companies, the Mexican drug traffickers participate directly in the cultivation of the coca leaf with the introduction of adapted seeds…Lieutenants sent to the South American country not only supervise the planting, but also coordinate the shipment that guarantees the quality of the drug exported via Central America and its passage through Mexico to the streets of the United States, where the product increases its value exponentially…Despite the limited planting area, they have also implemented strategies to increase the crop yields of plantations.

Image Information:

Image caption:  A coca plantation of the kind found on the Colombia-Venezuela border.
Source:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciat/4387014624
Attribution:  CC BY-SA 2.0

National Armed Strike in Colombia Demonstrates Strength of Gulf Clan

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The Colombian Police capture high-level figures in the Gulf Clan.

The Colombian Police capture high-level figures in the Gulf Clan.

“The illegal armed group carried out an armed strike between May 5 and May 9, 2022.  It is estimated that 24 homicides occurred, in addition to the incineration of nearly 200 vehicles to block roads.”

In November 2021, Colombian security forces arrested Dairo Antonio Úsuga, otherwise known as “Otoniel,” the leader of the Gulf Clan and the most wanted drug trafficker in the country.  Colombian President Iván Duque declared at the time that this was “the most important blow of this century against drug trafficking in Colombia” (see: “Colombia Celebrates the Arrest of Major Drug Trafficker ‘Otoniel’,” OE Watch, December 2021).  However, in early May, the Gulf Clan shut down wide swathes of northern Colombia, declaring an “armed strike,” according to Colombia’s leading weekly magazine Semana.  The strike, which lasted four days, was a direct response to the Colombian government’s decision to extradite Otoniel.  The government was slow to react, but eventually sent several thousand troops and police to intervene and lift the strike.  According to Colombia’s left-leaning daily El Espectador, the strike resulted in 24 homicides and hundreds of burned cars used to block highways.  It also exacerbated Colombia’s supply chain challenges.  Finally, the strike demonstrated the enduring power of cartels in Colombia and had an immediate ripple effect on Colombia’s presidential election.  Leftist presidential candidate, Gustavo Petro, blamed the security policies of past presidents, while the leading right-wing candidate, Fico Gutierrez, affirmed his support for the policy of extradition and a close security partnership with the United States.  Petro won the election, ushering a new era of what will likely be more limited cooperation with a formerly reliable U.S. partner in the region.

Source:

“Clan del Golfo: qué hubo detrás del paro armado? (Clan del Golfo: what was behind the armed strike?),” El Espectador (one of Colombia’s left-leaning daily newspapers), 12 May 2022.  https://www.elespectador.com/judicial/clan-del-golfo-que-hubo-detras-del-paro-armado/ 

The illegal armed group carried out an armed strike between May 5 and May 9, 2022.  It is estimated that 24 homicides occurred, in addition to the incineration of nearly 200 vehicles to block roads.  El Espectador spoke with several leaders of the affected areas and the general picture they gave us was that, despite the military deployment, the absence of the state was felt for five days.  Business was closed, people could not leave their homes, children could not go to school, threats to leaders were constant and they could not travel on the country’s highways.

Source:  “Terror en Antioquia: Clan del Golfo ha quemado 10 vehículos en medio de su ‘paro armado’ (Terror in Antioquia: Clan del Golfo has burned 10 vehicles in the midst of its ‘armed strike’),” Semana (Colombia’s leading weekly magazine), 5 May 2022.  https://www.semana.com/nacion/medellin/articulo/terror-en-antioquia-clan-del-golfo-ha-quemado-10-vehiculos-en-medio-de-su-paro-armado/202221/ 

Cargo and food transport vehicles have been incinerated, but there are also buses for the mobilization of people and even taxis.  Around 3,000 cargo operations have been stopped…In a pamphlet released by Gulf Clan, they assure that the ‘armed strike’ will be carried out for five days, during which time social, economic, educational and cultural activities will be entirely suspended.

Image Information:

Image caption:  The Colombian Police capture high-level figures in the Gulf Clan.
Source :  https://www.flickr.com/photos/policiacolombia/8616989338/in/photostream/
Attribution:  CC BY-SA 2.0

Colombian Navy Discovers Clandestine Narcosub Shipyard

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A narcosub of the type found in a clandestine shipyard in Colombia.

A narcosub of the type found in a clandestine shipyard in Colombia.

“Navy men located two semi-submersibles that were ready to be loaded with eight tons of cocaine… During the year 2021 and so far in 2022, 43 semi-submersible naval devices have been seized.”

Colombia’s criminal organizations have always proven capable of evading detection through innovation.  According to Colombian weekly magazine Semana, the country’s navy discovered a clandestine shipyard meant for building “narco-subs” for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group.  The shipyard was found in Nariño, a department on the southern border with Ecuador.  According to the article, the shipyard contained two half-built, 82-foot semi-submersibles with a full range of modern equipment.  Colombian authorities have seized more than 40 semi-submersibles since the beginning of 2021.  

Right-leaning Mexican daily El Universal says that traffickers have employed semi-submersibles with increasing frequency in the Pacific Ocean.  Colombian groups have recently started using this maritime route to move their products to Mexican criminal organizations rather than the land route.  Each narcosub can carry about four tons of cocaine.

Other semi-submersible submarines have been making trans-Atlantic and Pacific crossings in recent years.  Although there are no known instances of drug traffickers accomplishing this feat, it suggests that it is plausible that criminal organizations can ship their own product, even across the Atlantic, rather than hiding it in shipping containers or having to pay off corrupt customs officials.  Such a development would remove several points of vulnerability from the drug trafficking supply chain, making detection and interdiction more difficult in the vast oceans.

Source:

“Encuentran dos semisumergibles en selvas de Nariño, listos para cargar de cocaína (An encounter of two semi-submersibles in the jungles of Nariño, ready to load cocaine),” Semana (Colombia’s most famous weekly magazine), 16 March 2022.  https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/encuentran-dos-semisumergibles-en-selvas-de-narino-listos-para-cargar-de-cocaina/202239/  

Navy men located two semi-submersibles that were ready to be loaded with eight tons of cocaine…Semi-submersibles are used by drug traffickers to ship tons of cocaine undetected…During the year 2021 and ..in 2022, 43 semi-submersible naval devices were seized.

Source:  “CJNG. Salsa Club, el antro de los narcos mexicanos en Colombia (CJNG. Salsa Club, the den of Mexican drug traffickers in Colombia),” El Universal (a major Mexican daily that tends to lean right), 12 April 2022.  https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/mundo/cjng-salsa-club-el-antro-de-los-narcos-mexicanos-en-colombia 

The celebration was used by Colombian and U.S. agents to infiltrate and find out the details of the Mexican-Colombian criminal alliance to traffic cocaine in semi-submersibles through a maritime corridor of the Pacific Ocean that leaves the coast of San Juan de la Costa en route to…Mexico and the US.  The corridor covers the Pacific coasts of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Central America, and Mexico, and in the 21st century it became a vital drug trafficking route from South to North America.

Image Information:

Image: A narcosub of the type found in a clandestine shipyard in Colombia.
Source: Peru Ministry of Defense via Wikimedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peru_Narco-submarine.jpg
Attribution: CC BY 2.0

Colombian Military Continues To Forcefully Dismantle FARC Dissident Structures

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A protest against the FARC and its activities.

A protest against the FARC and its activities.

“According to the National Army, these offensive operations are carried out within the framework of security provided by the Armed Forces in the midst of the 2022 Democracy Plan, in which they seek to counteract ‘the terrorist actions of the criminal armed groups in this region of the country.”

In 2016, the Colombian government signed a groundbreaking peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).  The agreement was intended to put an end to over 50 years of conflict.  Colombia’s military, however, continues to fight dissident members of the FARC who rejected the agreement and did not lay down their arms.  Aided by the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela, FARC remnants remain a deadly and powerful force in Colombia, especially in rural and border regions as they push to expand their control of lucrative drug trafficking routes.  According to the excerpted article from the politically centrist Columbian daily El Tiempo, in recent months, Colombia’s military has clashed with members of FARC dissident groups as it increases the pace of special military operations.  The outlet reports that in one such operation in Arauca, the military killed 23 dissidents, including a top leader.  The excerpted article from Colombia’s most famous weekly magazine, Semana, tells the story of similar captures of important FARC dissidents in Tumaco state.  FARC dissidents are not only reconstituting themselves with the safe haven provided by Venezuela, but also competing internally between various dissident factions for territorial control.  Currently, the FARC is under heavy scrutiny in Colombia as the country is in the midst of a heated presidential campaign where security is, as always, an important topic.

Source:

“Mueren 23 disidentes en operación de ejército, entre ellos ‘Arturo’ (23 dissidents die in army operation, among them ‘Arturo’),” El Tiempo (one of Colombia’s oldest dailies generally described as politically-centrist), 25 February 2022.  https://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/conflicto-y-narcotrafico/arauca-23-disidentes-murieron-tras-operacion-militar-653989  

The newspaper established that for 20 days intelligence from the National Police had been monitoring the structure of ‘Arturo,’ who crossed the border from Venezuela with at least 35 of his men…It was established that after the intelligence group located the camp, a bombing operation was planned by the Colombian Air Force, and the Army Special Forces immediately entered and fought with part of the guerrilla.  Then the Judicial Police entered and managed to recover 23 bodies, including Arturo’s.

Source:  “Capturan a seis presuntos disidentes de las Farc en Tumaco (Six presumed dissidents of the Farc are captured in Tumaco),” Semana (Colombia’s most famous weekly magazine), 12 March 2022.  https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/capturan-a-seis-presuntos-disidentes-de-las-farc-en-tumaco/202208/    

According to the National Army, these offensive operations are carried out within the framework of security provided by the Armed Forces in the midst of the 2022 Democracy Plan, in which they seek to counteract ‘the terrorist actions of the criminal armed groups in this region of the country’…the Ombudsman’s Office warned at the end of February of a rearrangement of criminal dynamics…that seek to control this strategic corridor and the access roads to the city of Bogotá through the use of violence.

Image Information:

Image caption:  A protest against the FARC and its activities.
Source:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/kozumel/2245170100
Attribution:  CC BY-ND 2.0

Colombia’s Constitutional Court Halts Push for Aerial Spraying of Coca Crop

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Aerial spraying of glyphosate.

Aerial spraying of glyphosate.

“The environmental authority could not make a decision about the modification… without first carrying out the process of prior consultation with all the ethnic communities likely to be affected by the spraying activity.”

In January, Colombia’s constitutional court halted President Iván Duque’s plan to return to aerial spraying of glyphosate as a means of eradicating coca.  According to an article posted in one of Colombia’s oldest dailies El Tiempo, the court stopped the order because the Colombian state had not sufficiently guaranteed the communities impacted by the decision to return to aerial spraying the right to prior consultation.  Prior consultation is a process that will take many months to complete, effectively shelving the decision on aerial spraying.  Environmental authorities, in conjunction with the police, will have to complete this process in accordance with regulations set forth by the constitutional court, according to center-leftArgentine news outlet Infobae.  The outlet states that in 2020, Colombia had nearly 150,000 hectares of coca cultivation.  Despite intensifying a program of manual coca crop eradication after signing a peace deal with guerrillas in 2016, Colombian officials want to return to aerial eradication to deal with a resurgence in violence and drug trafficking.  The timeline for a final decision outlined by the court kicks the decision into the ongoing presidential election, forcing candidates to debate the issue.  It also comes at a time when Colombia’s instability is high and its violence surging due to the expansion of drug trafficking activity along the border regions with Venezuela.

Source:

“Glifosato: Corte tumba plan de manejo ambiental y ordena consulta previa (Glyphosate: Court buries environmental management plan and orders prior consultation),” El Tiempo (one of Colombia’s oldest dailies generally described as politically-centrist), 20 January 2022.  https://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/cortes/glifosato-corte-tumba-plan-de-manejo-ambiental-y-ordena-consulta-previa-645910  

The environmental authority could not make a decision about the modification… without first carrying out the process of prior consultation with all the ethnic communities likely to be affected by the spraying activity, taking into account that the court itself noticed partial overlaps between these groups and the areas of influence of the project… The Court determined that in the process, in effect, the right to participation of the peasant communities residing in the municipalities where the program will eventually be carried out was ignored.

Source:  “Corte frustra planes de Duque de reanudar fumigaciones antidrogas en Colombia (Court frustrates Duque’s plans to resume anti-drug spraying in Colombia),” Infobae (Argentine news outlet generally seen as center-left politically), 19 January 2022.  https://www.infobae.com/america/agencias/2022/01/19/corte-frustra-planes-de-duque-de-reanudar-fumigaciones-antidrogas-en-colombia/   

In 2020, Colombia had 143,000 hectares of coca, the plant that serves as the raw material for cocaine, according to the most recent UN report.  The government, which links drug trafficking with the resurgence of violence after the peace process with the Marxist guerrillas in 2016, intensified the program of manual eradication of drug crops.  However, the government insisted on the need to fumigate with glyphosate to significantly reduce the cultivation area.

Image Information:

Image caption:  Aerial spraying of glyphosate. 
Source: Carolyn Parsons via Wikimedia,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palouse_Aerial_Spraying_02.jpg
Attribution:  CC BY-SA 4.0

Guerrilla Groups Continue To Threaten Colombia Along Border with Venezuela

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Members of Colombia’s National Liberation Army, which operates along the border area between Colombia and Venezuela, pose with their weapons.

Members of Colombia’s National Liberation Army, which operates along the border area between Colombia and Venezuela, pose with their weapons.

“Very early in 2022, the horror of the war showed its face again in Arauca, where not only have the effects of peace with the FARC not been seen, but, on the contrary, violence has reached levels of the crudest stages of the armed conflict.”

The border region between Colombia and Venezuela is experiencing some of its worst violence in years.  Since 2 January 2022, several dozen have died in what could be a series of contract killings, according to center-left Colombian daily El Espectador.  The daily states that originally, Colombian prosecutors suspected the dead were members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a guerrilla group operating along the border, contesting territory with the National Liberation Army (ELN), another prominent guerrilla group.  According to an article in the politically centrist Colombian daily El Tiempo, Colombian President Iván Duque has increased the troop presence in the border region to combat drug trafficking and establish greater state presence in these remote stretches. 

Violence along the border between Colombia and Venezuela is certainly nothing new.  However, this flare-up is a reminder of the criminal sanctuary provided to Colombia’s FARC and ELN by the Maduro regime in Venezuela, and the instability fomented throughout Latin America by the actions of these groups.  Unlike previous flare-ups in Apure state in Venezuela, these incidents have not led to migratory flows but underscore that Colombia has yet to realize fully the fruits of its demobilization efforts with guerrilla groups.  Lastly, with Colombia’s presidential election slated for May 2022, guerrilla groups and demobilization efforts will be key issues in the campaign.

Source:

“No hubo Combate:” Fiscalía elevó a 27 los muertos en Arauca y dio nueva hipótesis (There was no combat:” Prosecutor’s Office raised the dead in Arauca to 27 and gave a new hypothesis),” El Espectador (Colombian daily generally considered to be center-left in its political orientation), 5 January 2022.  https://www.elespectador.com/judicial/no-hubo-combate-fiscalia-elevo-a-27-los-muertos-en-arauca-y-dio-nueva-hipotesis/   

Since January 2, 27 dead have been found in different rural areas of Arauca, the Prosecutor’s Office reported on Wednesday.  The attorney general, Francisco Barbosa, provided a new hypothesis based on what investigators have found in the field and in the autopsies of the deceased: apparently, there were no combats, but the people were murdered in the form of contract killers.

Source:  “Muerte en la frontera (Death on the Border),” El Tiempo (one of Colombia’s oldest dailies generally described as politically-centrist), 4 January 2022.  https://www.eltiempo.com/opinion/editorial/muerte-en-la-frontera-editorial-el-tiempo-643053 

Early in 2022, the horror of the war showed its face again in Arauca, where not only have the effects of peace with the FARC not been seen, but, on the contrary, violence has reached levels of the crudest stages of the armed conflict…All this within the framework of the complicity, when not open participation in the crime, of the authorities of the Nicolás Maduro regime…Understanding the challenge posed by the natural conditions of the border and the lack of collaboration from the authorities on the other side to curb crime, it is clear that more efficient efforts and strategies are still needed.

Image Information:

Image:  Members of Colombia’s National Liberation Army, which operates along the border area between Colombia and Venezuela, pose with their weapons.
Source:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/brasildefato/32317009638
Attribution:  Flickr

FARC Dissident Groups’ High-Level Leaders Killed

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Colombian FARC dissident, Iván Márquez, is the most significant remaining leader of the Second Marquetalia.

Colombian FARC dissident, Iván Márquez, is the most significant remaining leader of the Second Marquetalia.

“Although so far no evidence is known in this regard, the deaths of both dissident leaders occurred very close to the border with Colombia…However, the authorities do not rule out any theory.”

Colombia’s continued struggle against dissidents of the now-disbanded Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) communist guerrilla group has achieved notable successes of late.  Darío Velásquez, alias “El Paisa,” and Henry Castellanos Garzón, alias “Romaña,” were killed in separate shootouts in Venezuela, according to Medellin-based daily newspaper El Colombiano.  Both were high-ranking commanders in the FARC guerrilla group, known as the Second Marquetalia, who continued their struggle against the Colombian state after the broader group signed the 2016 peace accords with the Colombian government.  The outlet reminds readers that the deaths come on the heels of the killing of Seuxis Pausias Hernández Solarte, alias “Jesús Santrich,” another prominent commander of the Second Marquetalia killed recently in Venezuela.  This leaves Iván Márquez alone in his struggle to maintain the relevance of the Second Marquetalia. Although conflict along the Colombia-Venezuela border is nothing new, the intensity and number of actors involved is increasing, according to Columbia’s politically centrist daily El Tiempo.  Numerous groups have flocked to the area for a lucrative slice of Venezuela’s illicit economies.  El Tiempo reports the presence of several Colombian guerrilla groups, drug trafficking groups, and Venezuelan security groups.  The vacuum left by the deaths of Paisa and Romaña is a significant blow to the Second Marquetalia and has created room for other groups to compete for territory.  Further, while the Colombian state claims victory, it is unclear whether Colombian state security forces had a hand in the deaths of Paisa and Romaña.  The possibility that the two were killed by rival groups and not by Colombia’s security forces speaks to the shifting realities of the border area as a corridor for illicit goods.

Source:

“Romaña, El Paisa y Santrich: en 6 meses cayeron tres narcos de exFarc en Venezuela (Romaña, El Paisa and Santrich: in 6 months three ex-FARC drug traffickers fell in Venezuela),” El Colombiano (the major daily of the city of Medellín), 8 December 2021.  https://www.elcolombiano.com/colombia/muerte-de-romana-revela-cruel-guerra-por-coca-en-venezuela-PE16129372

Both Romaña and El Paisa supported Márquez in the creation of the so-called Second Marquetalia—announced in August 2019—to return to arms under the excuse of non-compliance by the government with the agreement.  But with the death of these two former members of the former Secretariat, and the murder of alias Jesús Santrich in May 2021, Márquez is left alone.

Source:  “Las hipótesis sobre la autoría de los ataques a ‘Romaña’ y ‘el Paisa’ (The hypotheses about the origin of the attacks on ‘Romaña’ and ‘El Paisa’),” El Tiempo (one of Colombia’s oldest dailies generally described as politically-centrist), 9 December 2021.  https://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/conflicto-y-narcotrafico/romana-y-el-paisa-las-hipotesis-sobre-quienes-mataron-a-los-disidentes-637796   

The first hypothesis, of which the Colombian Public Force has spoken, is that they died at the hands of another dissident group…second, it has been said that they could have been assassinated by their own men…there is also another possible scenario: that the deaths were caused by Colombian forces…Although so far no evidence is known in this regard, the deaths of both dissident leaders occurred very close to the border with Colombia…However, the authorities do not rule out any theory.

Image Information:

Image:  Colombian FARC dissident, Iván Márquez, is the most significant remaining leader of the Second Marquetalia.
Source:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ivan-Marquez-GoraHerria.jpg
Attribution:  Wikimedia