Deadly Guaviare clashes leave at least 27 dissident fighters dead

At least 27 members of a leftist guerrilla faction have been killed in intense fighting between rival dissident groups in the remote El Retorno municipality of Guaviare, military authorities and security sources said. The clashes erupted in dense jungle roughly 300 kilometres southwest of Bogotá and were described by sources as the most violent outbreak in the area in recent months.

Two anonymous military sources said all confirmed fatalities belonged to the faction led by Néstor Gregorio Vera, known by the war name Iván Mordisco. A leader of the opposing faction, led by Alexander Díaz Mendoza, known as Calarcá Córdoba, separately confirmed the engagement and the death toll. Authorities have not released names or ranks of the deceased, and independent verification of individual victims is not yet available.

The fighting pitted two dissident groups that split from the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Both factions were once part of the dissident umbrella known as the Central General Staff but separated in April 2024 after internal disputes. The split has reshaped local power dynamics and intensified competition over territory long prized by armed groups for its seclusion and value to illicit economies.

Military and press reports indicate the immediate cause of the confrontation was a battle for control of jungle corridors used for cocaine production and trafficking. Guaviare has repeatedly been identified by Colombian authorities as a key node in the cocaine supply chain, and control of its remote swaths confers both revenue and leverage to armed groups. Analysts say such clashes are often driven as much by economic calculus as by ideology.

The episode underscores the fragility of a broader, uneven landscape of peace negotiations. Sources say Mendoza’s faction had been engaged in talks with President Gustavo Petro, while forces loyal to Vera continued hostilities after the government suspended a bilateral ceasefire. Both factions had rejected the 2016 FARC peace accord that led roughly 13,000 former combatants to disarm and reintegrate; their refusal has perpetuated splintering and violence in areas where state presence is thin.

Colombia’s armed conflict, now spanning more than six decades, has left a profound human toll. Officials and observers commonly cite figures of more than 450,000 deaths and millions displaced, with illicit economies such as drug trafficking and illegal mining serving as primary financing sources for irregular forces. Local communities in Guaviare, including indigenous and rural populations, risk renewed displacement and humanitarian strain as fighting flares in their territories.

The government faces immediate questions about security strategy and the status of negotiations with dissident commanders. Analysts caution that renewed, high-casualty confrontations could harden positions on both sides and complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at reducing violence across Colombia’s peripheries. International partners who follow Colombia’s peace process are likely to view the incident as evidence of persistent challenges to stabilizing coca-producing regions.

For now, authorities are expected to seek further confirmation of the casualty figure and to monitor the humanitarian impact on El Retorno’s civilians. The clashes in Guaviare are a stark reminder that, despite formal accords and ongoing talks, control of remote jungle corridors remains a central and combustible fault line in Colombia’s quest for lasting peace.