President Gustavo Petro responded to the proposal by alias 'Iván Mordisco', leader of the FARC dissidences, who called for uniting guerrillas against the US aggression in Venezuela. Petro described the alliance as an excuse for invasions due to narcotrafficking. He announced a meeting with Venezuela's interim president to address border security.
Following the US bombing of Caracas ordered by the Donald Trump government and the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, alias 'Iván Mordisco', top commander of the Estado Mayor Central of the FARC dissidences, reappeared in a video on January 8, 2026. In the over three-minute recording, Mordisco called on the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), Segunda Marquetalia, Ejército Popular de Liberación (EPL), and Ejército Bolivariano to form a common front against the 'imperialist aggression' toward Venezuela.
Mordisco quoted Simón Bolívar and stated: 'The roar of North American imperialism echoes once again against the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.' He urged setting aside internal differences among these groups, which have clashed in Colombia recently, and called for a summit of guerrilla leaders to reject military interventions, economic sanctions, and foreign domination.
On January 9, President Gustavo Petro responded on his X account, criticizing the proposal. 'The alliance proposed by Mr. ‘Iván Mordisco’ does not defend Venezuela, nor Colombia, nor Latin America; on the contrary, it is the excuse for invasion, and even dark money flows to sabotage elections and prevent electoral freedom,' he wrote. Petro noted that the dissidences are dedicated to narcotrafficking, serving as a pretext for invasions, and urged Latin American armies to unite to disarm the narco.
'The narco must be disarmed and reduced,' he added. 'Latin America must defend itself from any actor that destabilizes it, and that implies the unity of its peoples, its weapons, and its states. Armed narcotraffickers must be defeated by the peoples united with their states.' Petro reiterated his invitation to meet with Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, to act together on border security, where groups like Mordisco's dissidences and the ELN operate.
