Members of the Colombian Navy during an operation September 3. JOAQUIN SARMIENTO (AFP)
In the early hours of this Tuesday, a new attack took place in Cauca. According to President Gustavo Petro, a confrontation between the FARC dissidents and the Colombian army has killed seven soldiers and wounded seven. The president held an extraordinary security council in Bogotá, at the end of which he reported that the so-called Jaime Martínez column had carried out a deliberate attack on the army in the municipality of Buenos Aires, north of the Cauca department. “Public authority will not leave the Cauca region,” assured the President at the end of the meeting.
The ambush happened this morning when members of the so-called Jaime Martínez Front harassed and attacked the army with guns and grenades in the village of Munchique, Buenos Aires. The trail is located in the mountainous area of Naya, on the slopes of the Andes that descend to the Pacific Ocean coast. “Obviously it has to do with drug trafficking routes,” Petro said.
The President revealed the names of six of the dead soldiers: Yan Rodríguez, Jerson Mamián, Jonathan Ordóñez, Armando Vélez, Alexander Portocarrero and John Isaak, “all between the ages of 18 and 20”.
Gustavo Petro delivers a message after the meeting with the Extraordinary Security Council Video: GOVERNMENT OF COLOMBIA
The Jaime Martínez Front, one of the most active in this area of Cauca and responsible for attacks on indigenous communities and the assassination of social and indigenous leaders, is integrated into the FARC dissidents’ western coordination command, which responds to orders. allegedly by “Iván Mordisco”. It is one of the FARC’s two major dissident groups; the other is the so-called Segunda Marquetalia by Iván Márquez.
A few weeks ago, “Iván Mordisco” made public his commitment to total peace and to opening dialogues with the government, thus asking his ranks for a ceasefire, alluding to not attack if not attacked, an order who is not the first time it is breached. Petro has stated that there is no open dialogue with them for the time being.
Newsletter
Current affairs analysis and the best stories from Colombia, delivered to your inbox every week
GET THE
“Military actions only stop when there is really a real willingness to negotiate,” assured the president.
Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS newsletter on Colombia and receive all the latest information about the country.