Pacific coast of Cauca hit by violent reprisals from former FARC

A new wave of violence in southwestern Colombia is a worrying sign of a spreading of the conflict into previously peaceful areas.

On September 10, a powerful explosion struck the Pacific coastal town of Timbiquí in Cauca, damaging more than 100 homes and wounding eight Marines. Just two days earlier, 12 people were killed in a massacre in the nearby town of López de Micay.

Authorities have attributed the attack in Timbiquí to the Rafael Aguilera Front 30, a faction of the Central General Staff (Estado Mayor Central – EMC) of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC), led by Néstor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias “Iván Mordisco.” The attack was said to be in retaliation for a recent military operation that resulted in the deaths of three dissidents and the seizure of communications equipment and weapons.

Cauca Governor Ovidio Guzmán condemned the violence, stating on his X account: “Terrorist acts like today’s attack steal the peace of our territories. We will not give up in defending the right to life and through interinstitutional work we will guarantee security and order in our department.”

InSight Crime Analysis

New violence in the relatively peaceful Pacific region of Cauca points to an expansion of the conflict that has gripped other parts of the department.

Cauca recorded 466 violent incidents in the past year, including civilian attacks, bombings and armed clashes, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Most of the incidents occurred in areas in the north and east of the department, such as Argelia, El Tambo, Suárez, Santander de Quilichao, Corinto and Morales, municipalities that are part of the strategic drug trafficking corridor in the heart of Cauca.

In contrast, in the Pacific zone – with Timbiquí, Guapi and López de Micay – only a fraction of this type of violence had previously been seen, namely 14 incidents.

The coastal fringe of Cauca has enjoyed relative calm since late 2022, when the Jaime Martínez and Rafael Aguilera Fronts, both factions of the EMC, ousted an alliance between the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN) and the Second Marquetalia. The ouster was part of their fight to control illegal gold mining and cocaine trafficking routes in the region.

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But this period of “tense calm” has begun to derail in recent months as military operations against illegal mining and drug trafficking have been stepped up, provoking increasingly violent responses from armed groups.

Military actions in the area, such as Operation Thunder in October 2023, which aimed to expel armed groups from the region, focused mainly on the Micay Canyon and aimed to regain control of this strategic area from the EMC’s Carlos Patiño Front.

Military campaigns against illegal mining in rivers such as the Timbiquí and Micay have also seen a marked increase. Efforts to intercept cocaine shipments passing through the region to the Pacific Ocean, destined for export by boat to Buenaventura and Central America, have also been stepped up. So far this year, the Pacific Naval Force has seized 173 tons of cocaine along Colombia’s Pacific coast.

Tensions rose further after the government of President Gustavo Petro ended the ceasefire with the EMC on March 17 and subsequently suspended peace negotiations. In May, 500 additional troops were deployed to the region and weeks later the “Cauca Mission” was launched, aimed at restoring security in key conflict zones, including the Pacific coast, while providing institutional support and opportunities for local farmers.”

“We are going to make this department a safe, prosperous place full of opportunities for all its inhabitants,” Defense Minister Iván Velásquez said at the launch, adding that his priority would be the Pacific region.

Main image: A man looks at the aftermath of a bomb reportedly planted by FARC dissidents in Timbiquí, Cauca. Credit: El Colombiano