For more than two weeks, the whereabouts of Iván Márquez, leader negotiator for the FARC-EP guerrillas in the dialogues with the Colombian government in Cuba, has been unknown, which has generated uncertainty about the future of the peace agreement.
Amid attacks against former members of what was the largest Colombian guerrilla, incorporated into civilian life after the signing of an agreement with the government of Juan Manuel Santos in 2016, and allegations of possible military operations against him, Márquez abandoned the reintegration area of Miravalle, near the municipality of San Vicente del Caguán, Caquetá.
Next to him was another of the leaders of the FARC, Hernán Darío Velásquez Saldarriaga, known as El Paisa.
"Hours before the possession of the new Congress, in the area of Miravalle, there was a military operation, some peasants told the Paisa that there was combat troops in the area, the two FARC party commanders left their homes around 11 am night and at 2 in the morning the military arrived. The Military Forces deny the operation, but versions in the field confirm it ", reported the newspaper El Espectador.
"The information that manages (the Ministry of Defense) regarding Iván Márquez and El Paisa is that they left the concentration zone and we do not know their whereabouts," Colombian Defense Minister Guillermo Botero said on Friday.
The United Nations Organization clarified that it lacks "proof" that former FARC leaders have left the country, as some media have reported, referring to internal sources of the Colombian army, reports Prensa Latina.
"We have no confirmation and it seems to me that it is very premature, on the one hand, and it would be imprudent to make some assessment of this fact," said Martin Santiago, coordinator of the United Nations system in that country.
This week, General Ricardo Gómez Nieto, commander of the National Army, indicated that intelligence units of the Public Force monitor Márquez and El Paisa in the southern part of the country.
On August 16, the leadership of the FARC political party said it does not know the whereabouts of its number two, as well as that of other leaders of the former guerrilla.
On April 21, four months ago, Márquez traveled to Miravalle and demanded the release of the ex-guerrilla, Jesús Santrich, captured by an investigation by the DEA and the Prosecutor's Office, which accuse him of conspiring to send cocaine to the United States.
At the same time, international organizations report an increase in murders and persecutions against social leaders and former guerrillas, whose deaths exceed 100 since the signing of the peace.
The last message of Márquez on the social network twitter is July 4 and he makes a complaint: "The overwhelming majority of the military do not want to return to the war," then finished the text with "God forbid that the government of Colombia acting as cipayo cometa the madness of attacking Venezuela. "
Later the ex-guerrilla shared a letter addressed to the head of the UN mission, Jean Arnault, in order to communicate an incident that affected his physical security: "Since Friday, July 6, special army counter-guerrilla troops belonging to Battalion 22 and High Mountain have deployed over the Pato region a ground operation that we have no doubt is aimed at sabotaging the march of hope for peace.
The overwhelming majority of the military do not want to go back to war. With peace they feel good. Now they have more time for their families and for their professional careers. God forbid that the government of Colombia acting as sepoy would commit the madness of attacking Venezuela
The overwhelming majority of the military do not want to go back to war. With peace they feel good. Now they have more time for their families and for their professional careers. God forbid that the government of Colombia acting as sepoy would commit the madness of attacking Venezuela
- Iván Márquez (@IvanMarquezFARC) July 4, 2018