Dissidence of the FARC is growing stronger despite the peace talks

He Central General Staff (EMC), the main dissidence former FARC guerrillahas been strengthened by the creation of a new armed bloc in central Colombia despite the fact that they are in peace talks with the government, as the group admitted this Monday.

EMC, headed by Néstor Gregorio Vera, alias ‘Iván Mordisco’he never accepted the peace agreement signed by the FARC with the Colombian government in November 2016, which last October gave him a second chance by setting up a new negotiating table.

However, judging by today’s statements by the head of the EMC, that group, which was originally concentrated in the jungles of the south and southeast of the country, has expanded.

Its presence in South West and Central Divisions such as Tolima, Huila, Quindío and Valle del Cauca.

“We want to announce to the Colombian people the formation of the commander of the central bloc Isaías Pardo in response and solidarity with the commander of the western bloc Jacob Arenas,” said the guerilla leader’s alias in a video dated March 30 and posted on social media on Monday ‘Marlon Vásquez’, who appears surrounded other subjects armed with rifles.

According to the guerrilla leader,EMC dissidents are the “successors” of the former FARC and the creation of a new group is a response to a “major military offensive”.

In recent weeks, the Colombian military has carried out several operations against the group after the government suspended a bilateral and temporary ceasefire with the EMC – a product of peace talks – in the departments of Nariño, Cauca and Valle del Cauca, in response to attacks against the indigenous community in which one woman died and two were injured.

alias’Marlon Vasquez He adds that the EMC is responding to the partial suspension of the truce by “political and military deployment and the formation of a central bloc”, a name already borne by one of the strongest groups of the former FARC.

EMC’s announcement drew criticism from politicians such as Senator Miguel Uribe of Uribe’s Democratic Center party, who felt that Colombian President Gustavo Petro was giving back to the country “to the worst times of violence in Colombia.”

“The FARC just announced the creation of a new bloc and invited young Colombians to join their ranks, they admit they have recruited dozens of young people,” said Uribe, who complained “that Petro offers them impunity, the FARC, the criminal organizations are getting stronger.”