Both groups are fighting for control of the Amazon’s Guavier region, which is strategic for cocaine production and trafficking.
Published on January 19, 2026
At least 27 members of a leftist rebel group have been killed in clashes with a rival group in central Colombia, according to military officials, amid heightened tensions in the region amid a United States military operation in Venezuela and threats against Colombia.
The clashes, the most violent in recent months, took place on Sunday in the countryside of El Retorno municipality in the Amazon’s Guavier region, 300 km (186 miles) southeast of Bogotá, a military source told Reuters news agency.
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The military said on Saturday X that the battle was mainly for control of the region, as the region is strategic for cocaine production and trafficking.
The encounter took place between the country’s most wanted man, Nestor Gregorio Vera, known by the nom de guerre Ivan Mordisco, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) faction led by Alexander Díaz Mendoza alias Calarca Córdoba.
Both factions were part of the so-called Central General Staff but separated in April 2024 due to internal disputes. According to two military sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, the dead were all from Vera’s group. A leader from Diaz’s group also confirmed the clashes and 27 deaths to Reuters.
Army sources said the death toll was preliminary.
Diaz’s group is currently engaged in peace talks with leftist President Gustavo Petro, while Vera’s group continues to attack civilians and security forces after the government suspended a bilateral ceasefire. These now-rival factions rejected a 2016 peace deal that allowed some 13,000 FARC members to leave the armed conflict and reintegrate into society after disarmament.
With elections four months away and the opposition accusing him of being soft, Petro has stepped up pressure on rebel groups.
In November, government forces launched an attack that killed 19 Mordisco followers.
Petro compares the elusive Mordisco to the late cocaine baron Pablo Escobar.
The president has clashed sharply with the US of late over Venezuela as tensions between the two longtime allies have risen.
Petro has traded tough words with President Donald Trump after he threatened to follow up with the US The kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro With an attack to knock down or kill a pet.
But last week, the two leaders eased tensions, talked and agreed to work together to fight drug trafficking.
of Colombia National Liberation Army (ELN)A left-wing rebel group, and the country’s largest remaining rebel force, is gearing up for battle amid Trump’s threats to intervene.
Colombia’s armed conflict, spanning more than six decades and financed primarily by drug trafficking and illegal mining, has left more than 450,000 dead and millions displaced, with Petro’s peace efforts currently stalled.