Colombian Defense Minister Authorizes Tactical Bombings of FARC-EMC in Efforts to Detain Group’s Leader

Colombian Defense Minister Ivan Velásquez Gómez approved military artillery strikes on several locations across Colombia in response to a drone attack launched by a splinter faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia known as the Estado Mayor Central (FARC-EMC) that killed a ten-year-old on Wednesday. The artillery strikes against the FARC-EMC did not target human elements, but instead targeted areas believed to be minefields installed by the armed group in the rural reaches of Colombia..Further Conflict.The attack, which led to the death of the ten-year-old, occurred in the El Plateado district in Algeria, Cauca, a recent battleground between members of the FARC-EMC and government forces. During the attack, members of the FARC-EMC utilized a commercial drone with a grenade attached, a tactic used in a number of ongoing conflicts such as the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as groups such as Hamas in their war against Israeli forces. Brigadier General Federico Mejía stated that the attack was launched after inhabitants of El Plateado refused to expel government forces from the region. The attack ultimately led to the death of a ten year-old who was playing soccer in El Plateado, marking the first causality through the usage of a commercial drone during the ongoing conflict.."There were bombings to facilitate the arrival in the territory of soldiers, there were no bombings against human targets, the bombings were carried out to ensure security dispersing from anywhere, but especially in the face of the great possibility of the existence of mines, explosive devices in the area where this bulk of soldiers should arrive so that they would not be at risk to their lives. That was the only reason for the bombings," the Defense Minister stated..Minefields have proven to be a large danger for government forces in Colombia, with frequent reports of Colombian soldiers falling on these buried explosives, to the dismay of observers internationally. One such case occurred in early July 2024, when six soldiers fell into a minefield while engaged in a firefight with members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a similar armed group to the FARC-EMC active in Colombia's northern reaches. By launching a number of artillery attacks against areas believed to house mines and other explosive devices, the Defense Minister has removed a significant danger for soldiers fighting against armed groups within the country..Amid rising tensions between the Colombian government and the FARC-EMC especially in the Cauca and Valle del Cauca Departments, Semana, a Colombian news outlet, reported that authorities have increased operations with the aim of discovering the location of the group's leader, Ivan Mordisco. Four departments stand out for authorities, according to Semana, including Cauca, Caquetá, Arauca, and Guaviare, where authorities have launched numerous operations in an attempt to locate the leader of one of Colombia's most prolific armed groups..A Look Behind the Escalation.Operations against the FARC-EMC have not always been in effect, however, as the government of sitting President Gustavo Petro previously negotiated a ceasefire with the armed group as a part of the president's plan to bring "total peace" to Colombia. This plan seeks to end the 60-year-long internal armed conflict, the longest armed conflict in Latin American history, through a series of ceasefires with armed groups such as the FARC-EMC, fellow FARC dissidents Second Marquetalia, the National Liberation Army (ELN), and right-wing paramilitaries such as Clan del Golfo with the end goal of negotiating complete disarmament and disbandment..The ceasefire with the FARC-EMC, which was originally negotiated in June 2023, was dissolved in March 2024 following an attack by the FARC-EMC on an indigenous community, which left one community leader dead and two others wounded after the group attempted to forcibly recruit two minors. Following the dissolution of the ceasefire, government forces intensified operations against the FARC-EMC, who had reportedly grown more powerful through the expansion of the production and distribution of narcotics, increasing the number of recruits, and taking territory from rival armed groups in Colombia..This increase in operations was not ignored by the FARC-EMC. Soon after the dissolution, the armed group would also engage in a number of armed operations against government forces in what many believe to be an attempt to coerce the Colombian government to reenter a ceasefire with the FARC-EMC.."No matter how much pressure these illegal organizations try to exert, we will not back down from the decision to suspend the ceasefire. Offensive operations by the Public Force [military and national police] will continue," Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez stated in April, seemingly confirming this theory.."This organization has only filled the communities in these departments with anguish and suffering, and it is precisely because of these criminal actions against the population that the government, the President of the Republic, decreed the suspension of the cessation. And no matter how much pressure is intended to be exerted, we are not going to decline this decision taken to suspend the cessation and develop offensive operations by the Public Force," Velasquez continued..The increased operations conducted by armed groups within the nation are sure to continue as the government faces heavy resistance from the FARC-EMC in Cauca and Valle del Cauca where the group is known to have a heavy presence.