ivan marquezthe top commander of the Second Marquetalia, a FARC dissidence that returned to the armed struggle after a peace agreement, died in Venezuela from the serious injuries he suffered in an attack in 2022, A military intelligence source and another close to the group said yesterday.
This is the strongest blow suffered by the dissidence of the former guerrilla of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) since they departed from the peace agreement signed in 2016, said one of the sources who requested anonymity.
Although the guerrillas assured that the attack had been perpetrated by the Colombian authorities, the then Colombian president, Iván Duque, blamed the dissidence led by Nestor Vera, alias ‘Iván Mordisco’, in retaliation for the death of Miguel Botache Santillana, alias ‘Gentil Duarte’.
The Colombian Defense Minister, Iván Velásquez, has reported that there is still no confirmation regarding the guerrilla leader. ‘Iván Márquez’ was the chief negotiator of the FARC in the peace process that culminated in the agreement signed with the Government of President Juan Manuel Santos in 2016, but in 2019 he chose to resume the armed struggle with other important guerrilla leaders due to non-compliance of Iván Duque’s executive of the peace process.
With information from Reuters and DPA.
*mcam
