Their only objective is criminal economy, living off drug trafficking.
En las profundidades de la Amazonía colombiana, a tres días de unas elecciones presidenciales que definirán el rumbo del país, cuarenta y ocho combatientes cayeron muertos en un enfrentamiento entre facciones disidentes de las FARC que luchan por el control de rutas de narcotráfico y minería ilegal en el Guaviare. Sus cuerpos permanecen en la selva, inaccesibles por minas antipersona y condiciones climáticas adversas, como testimonio silencioso de que el Estado aún no alcanza a todos los rincones de Colombia. La violencia, descrita por el propio gobierno como la peor en una década, convierte la seguridad en el eje moral y político de una elección que se celebrará bajo la sombra de 408.000 efectivos desplegados para proteger la democracia.
- Cuarenta y ocho guerrilleros muertos en el Guaviare revelan que la guerra entre disidentes de las FARC no es ideológica sino una carnicería por el control del narcotráfico y la minería ilegal.
- Los cuerpos siguen en la selva: helicópteros en tierra por el clima, tropas frenadas por minas antipersona, y solo los civiles atrapados en el fuego cruzado como testigos del horror.
- Colombia vive su peor ola de violencia armada en diez años, con extorsión, secuestros y ataques convertidos en rutina mientras el país se prepara para votar el 31 de mayo.
- El gobierno moviliza 408.000 efectivos, drones, buques y vehículos blindados para blindar las urnas, pero ni ese despliegue masivo pudo llegar a tiempo al corazón del Guaviare.
- La estrategia de paz negociada del presidente Petro queda en entredicho mientras Iván Mordisco y Calarcá siguen desangrando territorios que el Estado no logra gobernar.
Tres días antes de las elecciones presidenciales del 31 de mayo, cuarenta y ocho combatientes murieron en enfrentamientos entre dos facciones disidentes de las FARC en la región amazónica del Guaviare. El alcalde de San José del Guaviare confirmó que los cuerpos permanecían donde cayeron: el terreno minado y las condiciones climáticas impedían cualquier operación de rescate. No fue el ejército quien contó los muertos, sino los propios civiles atrapados en el fuego cruzado.
Ambos grupos se disputan un corredor estratégico en la Amazonía que genera fortunas a través del tráfico de cocaína y la minería ilegal en zonas protegidas. Uno obedece a Iván Mordisco, el criminal más buscado del país; el otro, a un comandante conocido como Calarcá. Sostienen su dominio sobre la población mediante el terror: vigilancia, restricciones y extorsión sistemática sobre comunidades que no tienen adónde huir.
El ministro de Defensa, Pedro Sánchez, no esquivó la gravedad del momento. "Hacer elecciones en Colombia no es lo mismo que hacerlas en Suiza", advirtió. Para proteger los comicios, el gobierno desplegó 408.000 miembros de las fuerzas de seguridad en todo el país, junto con aeronaves, drones, sistemas antidron y vehículos blindados. Aun así, llegar al Guaviare resultó imposible: la zona queda a seis horas en vehículo todo terreno desde la capital regional, y un segundo enfrentamiento estalló mientras se planificaban los rescates.
Sánchez defendió la estrategia del presidente Petro de buscar negociaciones con grupos armados, pero calificó las motivaciones de los rebeldes como indefendibles: "Su único objetivo es la economía criminal, vivir del narcotráfico". Los cuarenta y ocho muertos en la selva, sin recuperar, son la medida más cruda de cuánto están dispuestos a perder —y a matar— quienes controlan esos territorios. Colombia vota en días, pero en el Guaviare, el Estado todavía no ha llegado.
Three days before Colombia's presidential election, forty-eight armed fighters lay dead in the Guaviare region of the Amazon, their bodies stacked in a remote area that rescue teams could not reach. The clash erupted between two dissident factions that had broken away from the FARC guerrilla organization after peace accords were signed in 2016. Willy Rodríguez, the mayor of San José del Guaviare, described the scene to international reporters: the bodies remained where they fell, and authorities lacked the means to retrieve them. The death toll came not from official military counts but from residents trapped in the crossfire, who witnessed the violence firsthand.
These two rebel groups fight over the same prize: control of a strategic corridor in the Amazon that generates enormous wealth through cocaine trafficking and illegal mining operations. One faction answers to Iván Mordisco, the country's most wanted criminal. The other follows a commander known by the alias Calarcá. Both groups finance themselves through extortion, drug smuggling, and the plunder of protected environmental zones. They maintain their grip on the population through terror—surveillance, restrictions, a regime of fear imposed on civilians who have nowhere else to go.
The violence unfolding in Guaviare reflects a broader crisis. Colombia is experiencing its worst wave of armed conflict in a decade. Attacks, murders, and kidnappings by criminal organizations have become routine. The timing could not be worse: Colombians will vote on May 31st, and security has emerged as one of the nation's most pressing concerns heading into the election. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez acknowledged the stakes plainly. "Holding elections in Colombia is not the same as holding them in Switzerland," he said. "There are real risks to democracy, and this cannot be ignored."
To protect the vote, the government has mobilized 408,000 members of the security forces across the country. They have deployed aircraft, naval vessels, drones, anti-drone systems, and armored vehicles. Yet even with this massive deployment, reaching the bodies in Guaviare proved impossible. The area lies six hours by four-wheel-drive vehicle from the regional capital. Weather conditions grounded helicopters. Military sources reported that rescue teams feared the presence of anti-personnel mines in the zone—a hazard left over from decades of conflict. Troops attempted to advance by land, but progress was slow and dangerous.
Sánchez rejected accusations that the government had been soft on criminal groups. President Gustavo Petro had pursued negotiations with armed organizations, seeking a path to peace rather than military confrontation alone. The defense minister called the rebels' motivations stark and indefensible. "Their only objective is criminal economy, living off drug trafficking," he said on radio. "It is inconceivable. It is absurd." Yet the violence continued. A second round of fighting broke out even as rescue operations were being planned, though initial reports on casualties from that engagement remained unclear.
The Guaviare region has long been a stronghold of guerrilla movements. It remains contested territory, a zone where state authority is weak and armed groups write their own rules. The clash between Mordisco's faction and Calarcá's forces represents not a struggle over ideology but a war for profit—a fight to the death for control of smuggling routes and mining operations. The forty-eight dead are a measure of how fiercely both sides are willing to fight for that control. As Colombians prepare to vote in three days, the bodies still lay in the jungle, unretrieved, a stark reminder that security remains fragile and that large parts of the country remain beyond the reach of law.
Notable Quotes
The bodies are piled up there; they need to be removed.— Willy Rodríguez, mayor of San José del Guaviare
Holding elections in Colombia is not the same as holding them in Switzerland. There are real risks to democracy, and this cannot be ignored.— Pedro Sánchez, Defense Minister
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a clash between two rebel groups matter to voters heading into a presidential election?
Because it shows that the state's authority in large parts of Colombia is still contested. If armed groups can fight pitched battles and leave dozens dead in a zone the government can't even reach to recover bodies, that tells voters something about what kind of security they can expect.
These are dissident FARC groups—I thought the FARC made peace in 2016?
They did, but not everyone accepted the deal. Some commanders rejected the accords and kept fighting. Now you have splinter factions competing for the same criminal economy—cocaine, illegal mining—that the original organization used to control. Peace on paper doesn't mean peace on the ground.
The mayor said bodies are "piled up." Why can't they just go retrieve them?
The zone is remote—six hours by vehicle from the nearest city. Weather grounded helicopters. And there are landmines. Rescue teams have to negotiate with the armed groups themselves to even approach the area. It's a war zone in the middle of the Amazon.
So this is about two criminal organizations fighting over drug routes?
Exactly. Iván Mordisco and Calarcá aren't fighting for territory in any political sense. They're fighting for the right to tax cocaine shipments and run illegal mining operations. The population caught between them suffers extortion, surveillance, and violence.
The defense minister said holding elections in Colombia isn't like holding them in Switzerland. What does that mean?
It means the government has to deploy 408,000 security personnel just to make voting possible. It means armed groups can still conduct major military operations days before the election. The state has to work much harder to protect democracy here.
President Petro tried to negotiate with these groups. Did that fail?
It's unclear. He pursued peace talks rather than purely military solutions. But the violence hasn't stopped. Whether negotiation can work when groups are motivated purely by profit—not ideology—remains an open question.