Clashes in Colombia between rival rebel groups kill 27 people
Al Jazeera8 hrs
Colombia: 27 Killed in Clashes Between Rival Guerrilla Groups
Is Colombia facing a surge in internal guerrilla rivalries, or is the state containing fragmented armed groups through security and peace efforts?
Above: Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernandez, also known as, Ivan Mordisco, speaks during the announcement by the FARC's Central General Staff (EMC) to open peace talks with the Colombian government during an assembly in Yari, Colombia on April 16, 2023. Image credit: Sebastian Marmolejo/Long Visual Press/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-government narrative
Recent clashes between rival FARC dissident factions stem from internal power struggles over territory and control. Fragmentation has intensified violence as commanders fight over routes and revenues rather than ideology or collective goals. Bogotá remains committed to the peace process despite repeated setbacks, treating the fighting as criminal rivalry rather than political insurgency. State action remains focused on preventing civilians from being trapped in conflicts driven by armed rivalries.
Government-critical narrative
Colombia’s security collapse is no accident but the result of a hollowed-out state that has ceded entire regions to armed groups. In Guaviare, clashes between EMC and EMBF killed at least 26 people while authorities remained absent. In Catatumbo, ELN forces displaced more than 60,000 civilians, openly deploying armed drones to execute suspected collaborators. Peace talks have become political theater, masking the government’s inability to protect civilians or enforce basic control over its territory.
Metaculus Prediction
Public Figures
Establishment split
CRITICAL
PRO
More neutral establishment stance articles
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.18.0