El Estado Mayor Central (EMC), the main faction opposing the FARC, stated this Monday through one of its battlefronts that negotiations cannot continue unless the bilateral ceasefire is restored across the country. “The only way to move forward is for a national, bilateral ceasefire to be declared and for mechanisms to be found that establish a negotiation table representing the entire unity of the Farian faction,” said a dissident from the Eastern Joint Command, which operates in the eastern region of the country.
The Colombian government had suspended the bilateral ceasefire in the departments of Nariño, Cauca, and Valle del Cauca last month in response to attacks on an Indigenous community that left a community leader dead and two injured.
The government asserted that this measure did not affect the ongoing talks, which began last year with this dissidence led by ‘Iván Mordisco,’ a former FARC leader who did not sign the peace agreement. Yet the EMC has repeatedly urged the government to restore the measure and even threatened to strike at military and police positions. In the latest statement, the dissidents argued: “due to the government’s failure, it has not been possible to continue the dialogues when there is a unilateral breach of the ceasefire by the national government.”
On the same Monday, the Attorney General’s Office reported that since the ceasefire was lifted, authorities have captured 68 alleged dissidents linked to the FARC, and within these 20 days more than 80 firearms have been seized, 15,650 rounds of ammunition of various calibers, 285 munitions suppliers, among other equipment.
The dissidents claimed that although the measure was established for three departments, the military forces have been attacking EMC units nationwide, and as a result, government orders are not reaching the front lines.
A Turbulent Relationship
The dynamic between the government and the EMC has long been marked by clashes that have pushed the peace talks to the brink of collapse. In 2023, an initial suspension of the agreed ceasefire occurred following the killing of four Indigenous minors recruited by the EMC, and the formal launch of the peace talks was delayed by the lack of agreement between the delegations.
The EMC is led by Néstor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias ‘Iván Mordisco,’ who did not sign the 2016 peace agreement between the government and the FARC.