'I want him alive': Colombia's Petro demands capture of rebel leader
Reuters
Published Mar 22, 2024 01:08PM ET
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's President Gustavo Petro ordered the country's military to capture the top leader of the Estado Mayor Central, aggravating a breakdown in relations between the illegal armed group and the government as they hold peace talks.
Petro issued the order on Thursday night at an event in Colombia's Sucre province, demanding that troops capture Ivan Mordisco, the top commander of the EMC (NYSE:EMC_old), a dissident faction of the now-demobilized FARC rebels who reject a 2016 peace deal with the state.
"I want them to capture Ivan Mordisco alive - don't kill him (...) I don't want them to kill him out there, I want him alive, because he's going to prison, to talk," Petro told a local crowd.
The EMC did not immediately respond to Petro's comments.
The president's order to capture Mordisco came after talks with the EMC hit a crisis point last weekend, when the government suspended its bilateral ceasefire with the group in three provinces after its members attacked an Indigenous community and killed one of its leaders.
The talks form part of Petro's policy of total peace, which aims to end the country's armed conflict of almost six decades, which has killed at least 450,000 people.
Analysts warned the suspension of the bilateral ceasefire in the provinces of Narino, Cauca and Valle del Cauca, as well as barbs traded between Petro and Mordisco - who accused the president of betrayal - threatened to end peace talks between the two sides.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.