Support the launch of peace negotiations with the government.
The former leader of the "Brother-in-law", whose pseudonym is Ivan Marquez, was once the "second person" in the "Brother-in-law" and participated in the peace negotiations between the "Brother-in-law" and the government. The FARC signed a peace agreement with the government in 2016, disarmed and transformed into a political party the following year. Marquez subsequently joined politics and was elected as a senator, but in 2019 he took up arms again and formed the anti-government armed "Mactalia Second Army".
On September 1, 2017, in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, Ivan Marquez, leader of the Popular Revolutionary Alternative Party, spoke at a press conference. The former Colombian armed organization "Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia" (referred to as "FARC") held a press conference in Bogotá that day, officially announcing that the organization would abandon military service and enter politics and establish the political party "Popular Revolutionary Alternative Forces". Xinhua News Agency (photo by Paz)
Colombian media previously rumored that Marquez was killed in an attack in Venezuela in 2022. However, the Colombian government later clarified that this was a rumor. Colombian police said in March this year that Marquez was in Colombia.
Colombia's "El Pais" released a 16-minute video on the 11th. In the video, Marquez talked about Colombian President Gustavo Petro's peace initiative and expressed his willingness to start peace talks with the government. "El Pais" said that this video was played at a peace forum that day, which was held in the Vichada region on the border between Colombia and Venezuela.
According to an internal security report of the Colombian government obtained by Reuters, the "Maktalia Second Army" is the second largest branch of the "FARC" with more than 1,700 members. The "Central Staff", the largest branch of "Gov", has more than 3,800 members.
The Colombian government and the "Maktalia Second Army" announced in February this year that they would launch peace negotiations, but did not announce a timetable. According to Reuters, the two sides may start negotiations in the next few weeks. (Wang Hongbin)
