Colombia’s military killed 19 EMC guerrillas in Amazon airstrikes, responding to an imminent rebel attack amid US sanctions on President Petro
BOGOTÁ: Colombian military airstrikes killed 19 guerrillas from a drug-trafficking splinter group in the country’s Amazon region.
Admiral Francisco Cubides confirmed the dawn strikes on November 10 targeted a dissident ex-FARC faction known as the Central General Staff (EMC).
The operation also resulted in one capture and the seizure of military equipment.
Cubides stated the airstrike was a direct response to an “imminent” rebel attack on military targets.
President Gustavo Petro said he ordered the “bombing and military dissolution” of the group led by the country’s most wanted rebel, Ivan Mordisco.
Mordisco’s EMC faction rejected the 2016 peace deal with the Colombian government.
The group has expanded its power since the FARC’s disarmament through drug trafficking, extortion, and illegal mining in remote areas.
This military action comes as Petro faces pre-election criticism and unprecedented US sanctions.
Washington recently blacklisted Petro, his wife, son, and interior minister, accusing them of enabling drug cartels.
The US Treasury banned them from travel to the United States and froze any US assets they hold.
No evidence was provided linking Petro directly to drug trafficking.
The sanctions list is typically reserved for drug kingpins, terror operatives, and dictators involved in human rights abuses.
The rupture follows months of friction between President Donald Trump and Petro over US deportations and strikes on suspected drug boats.
Since taking office in 2022, Petro has pursued negotiations with armed cocaine-producing groups rather than open warfare.
Critics argue this policy has allowed cartels and guerrillas to flourish, seizing territory and producing record cocaine amounts.
Petro is constitutionally barred from reelection, but the criticism threatens his political allies in next year’s elections. – AFP
