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Today’s newsletter is a featured newsletter with news that is still in development. Colombian troops bombed the camp of alias Ivan Mordisco in Guaviare, neutralizing “25 people”. This headline seems like it was decades ago, but it happened this Tuesday. The military attack was announced by President Gustavo Petro himself via After the operation, the president regretted the human loss, but said, “But I should have known that they were serving in the private army of a drug-trafficking military regime.”
A few months ago, Petro waived the suspension imposed at the start of the government and allowed the bombing to resume, but this Tuesday marks a new strategy against Mordisco, whose real name is Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernández. The photograph of my first contact with him at the table of peace is gone. Or the meetings held by the Mordiscos in the middle of the day in the countryside of Caqueta, surrounded by armed men in camouflage.
Now, at the worst moment for the FARC guerrillas, the leader’s likeness is featured on most-wanted posters as his crimes, ranging from terrorism, murder of protected persons, conscription and drug trafficking, are made public. A reward of 5 billion pesos is declared for information regarding his whereabouts.
The Petro government is trying to prove that it is persecuting and attacking such illegal organizations amid criticism from opposition parties and the United States, which are trying to use the failure of a complete peace to gain support that ties the president to the Clinton list. Pedro Sánchez, Minister of Defense and retired general, explained that in reality there were seven camp bombings by various armed groups, including five against Cran del Golfo and two against Mordisco, resulting in 508 battles.
Mordisco is a double resurrected man. At the end of his term, President Iván Duque abandoned him for dead. But in 2023, the leader re-emerged triumphantly, giving an interview in which he said he was very much alive and had rallied various dissident factions of the defunct FARC guerrillas linked to drug trafficking and illegal mining. He introduced himself as the Central Chiefs of Staff and began negotiations with the Petro government, while his subordinates continued to commit crimes in various parts of the country. Former peace commissioners, conflict experts, and organizations such as Human Rights Watch warned the government at the time that accepting them with EMC dignity would give criminal groups a political character.
Mordisco and his associates are behind hundreds of threats, murders and terrorist attacks like the one in Cali that left six people dead and 30 injured. On Tuesday of this week, official forces discovered a powerful explosive device in the bombed camp that was intended to be used in a large-scale attack.
The president has called on Mr. Sánchez on various occasions for a cease-fire, but each time the offensive has deepened since Mr. Sánchez became minister 10 months ago. That’s more than three years into his mission.
Petro’s patience with Mordisco seems to have run out, but the challenges are huge. According to a recent report by the Ideas for Peace Foundation, opposition groups led by Resurrectionists grew by 20% from December 2024 to July 2025, reaching 3,919 members.
other story
This is a brief excerpt of other recommended articles from EL PAÍS America Colombia.
Petro ordered to suspend intelligence cooperation with US after drug boat attack
Colombia’s president announced the move hours after it became known that the United Kingdom had made a similar decision regarding President Trump’s military operations in the Caribbean.
Minister Benedetti insults Supreme Court judge after reporting home attack: ‘She is completely insane and sick’
The Interior Ministry’s portfolio chief has indicated that he intends to censure Cristina Lombana at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Colombia’s healthcare system collapses as Petro and opposition fight over reform
The Office of the Ombudsman has warned of a sharp deterioration in health services, revealing that families are spending more and more money on purchasing medicines.
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