Colombian rebel leader calls for guerrilla unity against US interventionism

(Patria) - The leader of the largest dissident faction of the former guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) called on other rebel groups to unite in the fight against American interventionism in the region, in a video message that the group confirmed as authentic on Friday, Reuters reported.

The call by leader Nestor Gregorio Vera, better known by his war nickname "Ivan Mordisco," came after a US incursion into neighboring Venezuela, which resulted in the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro.

"The shadow of the interventionist eagle looms over everyone equally. We urge you to set aside these differences," Vera said in a video in which he appeared dressed in camouflage and surrounded by two heavily armed guerrillas.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla who vowed to bring peace to the country after more than six decades of internal armed conflict, is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington in February, Trump said on Friday.

The planned meeting comes days after Trump threatened Colombia with military action. Trump has repeatedly, without evidence, accused Petro's administration of enabling a steady flow of cocaine to the US, imposing sanctions on the Colombian leader in October.

"Fate calls us to unite. We are not scattered forces; we are heirs to the same cause. Let us create unity through action and build a great rebel bloc that will push back the enemies of the great homeland," Vera added in the video addressed to the National Liberation Army (ELN), the Segunda Marquetalia group, and the Bolivarian Guerrilla Coordination Committee, which also emerged from the former FARC.

However, it did not include the second largest FARC dissident group, known as the Central General Staff, which split from Vera's group in 2024.
In total, the groups the rebel leader proposed to join have more than 11,000 members. Their primary criminal activities are drug trafficking and illegal gold mining, according to security sources.

Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said that by calling for rebel unity, Vera was trying to protect himself from prosecution by the armed forces.