(Corrected the location of El Retorno in paragraph 2 to southeast of Bogotá, not southwest, and in paragraph 1 to central Colombia, instead of southwest. Also corrected second mention of Alexander Diaz Mendoza to Diaz, not Mendoza.)
Luis Jaime Acosta
BOGOTA, Jan 18 (Reuters) – At least 27 members of a Colombian left-wing guerrilla group have been killed in clashes with rival factions fighting for control of a jungle region in central Colombia, the military reported on Sunday.
Military sources said the most violent clashes in recent months took place in the rural area of El Retono, Guaviare province, 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Bogota.
The area is strategic for cocaine production and trafficking.
The conflict occurred between one faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), led by Nestor Gregorio Vera (whose war name is Ivan Modisco), and another led by Alexander Diaz Mendoza, alias Carraca Córdoba, a second military source noted.
Both groups were part of the so-called Central General Staff but separated in April 2024 due to internal disputes. The casualties were all from Vera’s team, according to two military sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. A leader of Diaz’s group also confirmed the clashes and the deaths of 27 people to Reuters.
Diaz’s guerrillas are currently in peace talks with President Gustavo Petro, while Villa’s group has continued hostilities after the government suspended a bilateral ceasefire. These now warring factions rejected a 2016 peace deal that allowed some 13,000 FARC members to abandon their armed struggle and reintegrate into society after disarmament.
Colombia’s armed conflict, which has lasted for more than 60 years and is largely funded by drug trafficking and illegal mining, has killed more than 450,000 people and displaced millions, with Petro’s peace efforts now stalled.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Nia Williams)
