Colombia: Ceasefire With EMC Suspended, Except with Two Fronts

Demobilized members of the ELN Southwest War Front. Reference image. Photo: EFE

July 16, 2024 Hour: 2:47 pm

According to the minister, the dissidents of the now defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) led by Iván Mordisco are not interested in achieving peace, which is why they will return to war.

On Tuesday, the Colombian Ministry of Defense announced the culmination of the ceasefire with all the blocks and fronts of the Central General Staff (EMC) currently under the command of alias Iván Mordisco.

According to the minister, Iván Velásquez, this means the reactivation of offensive operations throughout the country against this network, which had already resumed on 20 March in the departments of Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Nariño, in the southwest.

The measure, the official added, is due to the insurgent group’s failure to implement the bilateral ceasefire in the midst of peace negotiations in different departments of the country.

Mediante el decreto 0888 se da por terminado el cese al fuego con 24 estructuras del antiguo ‘Estado Mayor Central’, las del suroccidente que delinquen en Cauca, Nariño y Valle del Cauca, y todas las que están bajo el mando de ‘Iván Mordisco’.

Se mantiene el cese al fuego… pic.twitter.com/Fbd79war3f
— Mindefensa (@mindefensa) July 16, 2024

The text reads: By decree 0888, the ceasefire is terminated with 24 structures of the former ‘Central General Staff’, those in the southwest that commit crimes in Cauca, Nariño and Valle del Cauca, and all those that are under the command of ‘Iván Mordisco’ . The bilateral and temporary ceasefire is maintained for three months with 16 structures that make up the Commander ‘Gentil Duarte’, ‘Comandante Jorge Suárez’ and the ‘Raúl Reyes’ front blocks.

Velásquez also clarified that it was decided to extend the ceasefire for a further three months with the Gentil Duarte, Jorge Suárez Briceño and Raúl Reyes blocs, commanded by alias Calarcá, who are represented at the talks.

The Colombian government confirmed weeks ago that it is only negotiating with part of the EMC and ruled out the inclusion of Iván Lozada, its alleged leader, in the talks.

Hostilities with this insurgency resumed on 20 March in the departments of Nariño, Cauca and Valle del Cauca, after President Gustavo Petro ordered the suspension of the ceasefire with the armed group in that region.

The measure by decree was taken after an attack by this guerrilla structure on an indigenous minga.

Since then, the area in southwest Colombia has been the scene of bloody fighting between the EMC and the army.