Colombia bombing near Venezuela border kills 9 guerrilla fighters: defence source

In a bombing near the Venezuelan border, Colombia’s military killed nine guerrilla fighters, a defence ministry source told AFP on Friday.  

The strike took place in Arauca province and formed part of President Gustavo Petro’s intensified campaign against rebels involved in cocaine trafficking.

Earlier this week, senior Colombian military officials confirmed a major offensive against a drug-running guerrilla faction, reporting that airstrikes had killed 19 fighters in the country’s Amazon region. The strikes targeted a dissident ex-FARC splinter group at a time when President Gustavo Petro faces pre-election criticism and US sanctions linked to his alleged reluctance to act against armed cocaine-trafficking organisations.

Admiral Francisco Cubides stated that the operation took place “at dawn on November 10” and resulted in “19 terrorists killed”, alongside one person captured and the seizure of military equipment. He added that the airstrike was launched in response to an “imminent” rebel attack on military targets. Petro said he ordered the “bombing and military dissolution” of the group commanded by the country’s most wanted rebel, known by the alias Ivan Mordisco, after peace talks collapsed. Mordisco leads the Central General Staff (EMC), a faction that refused to accept the 2016 peace agreement with the Colombian government.

Growing rebel influence and US sanctions

Experts note that the EMC has expanded its influence since the FARC’s disarmament, taking advantage of remote areas through drug trafficking, extortion and illegal mining. In October, Washington imposed unprecedented sanctions on Colombia’s leftist president, his wife, his son and a senior aide, accusing them of enabling drug cartels. The US Treasury blacklisted Petro, First Lady Veronica Alcocer, his eldest son Nicolas and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, imposing a travel ban to the United States and freezing any assets they hold there.