At least 19 people have been killed in an air strike on a suspected rebel camp in Colombian province of Guaviare, according to the country's military. The attack targeted a dissident faction of the Farc rebel group, which engages in drug trafficking.
Colombia's left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, had in the past been reluctant to use air strikes to hit rebel camps but following the breakdown of peace talks with several of Colombia's armed groups, he gave the green light for the military offensive. The air strike comes after the Trump administration accused Petro of allowing the drugs trade to expand, which the Colombian president has denied.
Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez said that President Petro had authorised the air strike after learning of the imminent threat [the group] posed to the population and the security forces. Sánchez added that the camp belonged to members of a dissident group led by a commander known by the alias of Iván Mordisco.
Mordisco once formed part of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) but broke away from the rebel group as it negotiated a peace deal with the government, which he did not support. He is considered to be the most powerful dissident rebel leader in Colombia, whose group engages in illegal mining and extortion as well as drug trafficking.
During the military operation, security forces also detained three individuals and freed three children who had been recruited by the group. The forced recruitment of children by armed groups has been on the rise in recent years in Colombia, with rights groups documenting cases of children as young as nine being kidnapped or lured away.
After Petro, Colombia's first left-wing president, was sworn in, he opened peace talks with various armed groups in an attempt to achieve total peace. However, talks with Mordisco's group broke down after six months when he led a walkout. The group is blamed for a deadly attack on a military facility in Cali last August.
Petro has come under pressure from the United States to combat drug trafficking amid accusations that he has allowed drug cartels to flourish. In response to U.S. criticisms and sanctions, Petro has also expressed opposition to U.S. strikes and ordered a suspension of intelligence sharing with U.S. security agencies.
Colombia's left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, had in the past been reluctant to use air strikes to hit rebel camps but following the breakdown of peace talks with several of Colombia's armed groups, he gave the green light for the military offensive. The air strike comes after the Trump administration accused Petro of allowing the drugs trade to expand, which the Colombian president has denied.
Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez said that President Petro had authorised the air strike after learning of the imminent threat [the group] posed to the population and the security forces. Sánchez added that the camp belonged to members of a dissident group led by a commander known by the alias of Iván Mordisco.
Mordisco once formed part of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) but broke away from the rebel group as it negotiated a peace deal with the government, which he did not support. He is considered to be the most powerful dissident rebel leader in Colombia, whose group engages in illegal mining and extortion as well as drug trafficking.
During the military operation, security forces also detained three individuals and freed three children who had been recruited by the group. The forced recruitment of children by armed groups has been on the rise in recent years in Colombia, with rights groups documenting cases of children as young as nine being kidnapped or lured away.
After Petro, Colombia's first left-wing president, was sworn in, he opened peace talks with various armed groups in an attempt to achieve total peace. However, talks with Mordisco's group broke down after six months when he led a walkout. The group is blamed for a deadly attack on a military facility in Cali last August.
Petro has come under pressure from the United States to combat drug trafficking amid accusations that he has allowed drug cartels to flourish. In response to U.S. criticisms and sanctions, Petro has also expressed opposition to U.S. strikes and ordered a suspension of intelligence sharing with U.S. security agencies.
