El Retorno, Guaviare, Colombia — Colombian military authorities are investigating the deaths of an undetermined number of FARC dissidents following fierce armed clashes between two rival splinter factions in southern-central Guaviare province. Preliminary reports indicate up to 30 fighters from both sides may have been killed in the violent confrontations.
According to the army, the fighting pitted the Amazon Bloc—part of the Central General Staff (EMC) commanded by Colombia’s most-wanted fugitive Néstor Gregorio Vera, alias Iván Mordisco—against the Jorge Suárez Briceño Bloc led by Alexander Díaz, alias Calarcá. Soldiers from the 22nd Brigade are currently verifying reports of multiple fatalities in the Kuwait village area after the recent engagements.
The clashes appear to stem from a brutal power struggle over territorial control, drug trafficking corridors, and illegal economic activities in southern Guaviare. The EMC, the largest remaining FARC dissident structure under Iván Mordisco, consists of former FARC members who rejected the 2016 peace deal or later abandoned reintegration. Despite ongoing government negotiations with certain EMC sectors, deep internal divisions have triggered repeated armed infighting in strategic zones like Guaviare.
The dense jungle region of Guaviare, once a key FARC stronghold, has seen renewed violence since the original group’s demobilization, with splinter factions fiercely competing for dominance over cocaine routes and illicit economies.
FARC dissidents, Iván Mordisco, Calarcá, Guaviare clashes, EMC infighting, Colombia guerrilla violence, Amazon Bloc, Jorge Suárez Briceño Bloc, drug trafficking routes, illegal economies
