(MENAFN- Venezuelanalysis) Mexico City, Mexico, July 11, 2023 (venezuelanalysis.com ) – Iván Márquez, leader of the Revolutionary armed forces of Colombia Segunda Marquetalia, reportedly died Friday in a Caracas hospital.
"The information provided by the group is that he died in a hospital in Caracas, where he received medical attention for serious injuries suffered in an attack in Venezuela at the end of June 2022," a source close to the Segunda Marquetalia told Reuters.
Neither Colombian nor Venezuelan officials have confirmed his death.
The guerrilla commander, whose legal name was Luciano Marín Arango, was a seasoned leader within the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP) and a member of its secretariat.
Márquez was also the lead negotiator for the rebel organization in peace talks with the Colombian government held in Cuba and facilitated by Venezuela. The FARC-EP eventually reached an agreement with the government of then President Juan Manuel Santos in 2016, leading to the demobilization of the rebel organization's forces under the supervision of the United Nations.
However, the Santos government was inconsistent in its efforts to implement key provisions of the peace deal. At the end of his term, Santos was replaced by Iván Duque, a protegé of far-right former President Álvaro Uribe, who made his opposition to the 2016 agreement a key part of his campaign. Duque's reticence in implementing the peace agreement contributed to a hostile post-accord context in Colombia, with numerous social leaders and ex-guerrillas killed.
Given the conditions in the country, Márquez, a survivor of the political genocide carried out against the Patriotic Union (UP) in the 1980s, along with other key FARC-EP figures such as Jesús Santrich, returned to armed struggle, announcing the creation of the“Segunda Marquetalia” group in 2019.
Once again operating under clandestine conditions, Márquez reportedly suffered severe injuries on June 29, 2022 when his camp in the Colombia-Venezuela border region was attacked. It is not clear who carried out the operation. Citing intelligence sources, outlets reported that a rival“dissident” former FARC group was responsible. However, fellow commander Jesús Santrich was killed in a raid in 2021 that the Segunda Marquetalia said was the work of the Colombian Armed Forces in an operation carried out inside Venezuelan territory.
The June 2022 attack left Márquez with severe injuries, he was reportedly airlifted via helicopter out of the combat area to a hospital in Caracas. However, he made a recovery and was released in December but was left with shrapnel in his skull, which is believed to have ultimately caused death.
With the 2022 incident involving Márquez leading to claims that he had been killed that were eventually proved false, government officials have been hesitant to confirm his death.
“We do not want to commit to an opinion because we are not certain that Iván Márquez has died," stated Colombian Defense Minister Iván Velásquez.
Rodrigo Londoño, the former leader of the FARC-EP and president of the political party Comunes that was born out of the peace process, lamented the death of his former comrade.
“The presumed death of Iván Márquez is the cruel reflection of the maelstrom of war. A man of iron ideals whom in the midst of deep differences I always respected has died. A life that should have flourished in peace is extinguished,” wrote Londoño, also known as Timochenko, on his Twitter account.
Márquez appeared to be living in Venezuela under the auspices of the Nicolás Maduro government. The Segunda Marquetalia group allegedly enjoyed friendly relations with Caracas, with the Venezuelan president stating in 2019 that Márquez and Santrich would be“welcome” in the country as a result of their peace-building efforts. Under the leadership of late President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela played an indispensable role in facilitating the start of the peace process in Colombia.
At the time of writing, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a former member of a guerrilla organization himself, had not publicly commented on Márquez' death. The Petro government is pursuing a strategy it calls“Total Peace” that seeks to fully implement the 2016 peace agreement and is currently engaged in peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN).
According to InSight Crime, a portal which focuses on issues related to organized crime in Latin America, the death of Márquez will“simplify the path for the Total Peace plan.”
Márquez's death allegedly leaves Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias Iván Mordisco, who leads a separate former FARC faction unaffiliated with the Segunda Marquetalia, as the most powerful of the remaining former FARC commanders. Mordisco's group has been in preliminary peace negotiations with the Petro government.
According to the outlet El Colombiano, Márquez is to be buried in a hidden grave in the jungle in order to prevent his body from being exhumed.
Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.