Iván Jacobo Idrobo Arredondo, known by the alias "Marlon", commander of the FARC. Photo: X/@nmas.
President Petro calls his death the most significant blow against armed criminal structures.
On Saturday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the death in combat of Ivan Idrobo (aka Marlon), who was the top commander of the FARC dissident factions under the leadership of Nestor Vera, (aka Ivan Mordisco).
“I do not like to speak about the dead because they are Colombians who should not be dead if there were peace. But alias Marlon, the Cauca front’s top leader, who had confronted the government and killed Indigenous people and the people of Cauca, the second-in-command to alias Ivan Mordisco, has been killed in combat,” he said.
“It is the hardest blow we have dealt to the mafia’s armed structures in western Colombia. Judging by the number of rifles seized, people arrested, and children freed, that organization’s structure in Cauca has already been defeated.”
“Peace is the path, but not with naivety. Victory for the nation’s army and greater security for Colombia. Colombia can disconnect itself from illicit economies and build its peace,” Petro stressed.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said Marlon was killed during a joint operation by the Armed Forces and the National Police in the village of San Isidro, a rural area of Buenaventura, in Valle del Cauca department.
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He described Marlon as “the most dangerous murderer, terrorist and recruiter of minors in the country’s southwest,” adding that he was wanted by the United States on drug trafficking charges and for his ties to Mexican cartels.
Marlon led the Jaime Martinez Bloc, one of the strongest blocs of the Central General Staff (EMC). He was also accused of coordinating armed attacks, extortion operations and territorial control activities in several parts of that department.
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According to security agencies, Marlon had accumulated more than 15 years of criminal activity. Before joining the dissident factions, he belonged to the former FARC, was convicted of crimes related to rebellion and arms trafficking, and returned to armed activity in 2019 after the 2016 peace agreement.
The announcement of his death came 12 hours before the start of the presidential runoff between far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist candidate Ivan Cepeda.
During the political campaign, security occupied a central place in the political debate because of the deterioration of public order and the increase in the activities of illegal armed groups.
(teleSUR)
