Colombian president orders capture of guerrilla leader

BOGOTA, Colombia

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has ordered the arrest of Ivan Mordisco, a former leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) rebels with whom cease-fire talks have been suspended.

Petro expressed the desire for him to be captured alive and held accountable, saying, "I want Ivan Mordisco to be captured alive, not killed. Supposedly, they supported me in the 2022 presidential elections. I want these claims to be clarified."

Petro, a former militant, reminded everyone that they laid down their weapons 30 years ago and fulfilled their promise of peace.

Petro warned armed individuals associated with Estado Mayor Central (EMC), saying, "You need to know how to make decisions now. Either you follow the path of Pablo Escobar, then the state will confront you, or you choose the path of serving the people."

The EMC is the largest offshoot of the FARC.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mordisco said, "When we supported you during the campaign we were not drug dealers.”

"He (Petro) betrayed us, he betrayed the people who supported him for his progressive and peace discourse, today he promotes war and capitalism," he wrote on X.

“The FARC made peace and the driver kept the business. Now he is killing peasant leaders, assassinating the people and he talks about revolution," the former guerrilla leader added.

The government suspended a bilateral cease-fire with the rebel group in three areas of the country on Tuesday, following the latest attack against indigenous people in Colombia's Cauca region, which killed a local leader and injured two others last weekend.

There have been multiple clashes between the group and the military since Petro decided to end the truce.

Petro's government began peace negotiations last year with FARC rebels who did not adhere to an agreement signed in 2016 with the larger FARC group.

As part of the talks, the two sides declared a bilateral and temporary cease-fire on October 17, which was extended in January for six months, until July 15.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel in Istanbul