Nestor Gregorio Vera, a.k.a. “Ivan Mordisco,” became one of Colombia’s most powerful guerrilla leaders after the demobilization of the now-defunct guerrilla group FARC.
Because the current commander of the General Central Command (EMC) of the so-called Southeastern Bloc and the Western Coordinating Command (CCO) never demobilized, much of the information about Mordisco comes from military intelligence sources and is thus notoriously unreliable.
The early FARC days
No information exists about Mordisco’s birthplace and youth, or anything before the late 1990’s when the OCC commander allegedly joined the FARC as one of the rank and file guerrillas.
In his first years as a guerrilla, the OCC chief allegedly became a trained sniper and explosives expert of the key guerrilla unit that was mainly active in the Guaviare province.
At the time, the 1st Front basically was one of the FARC’s cash cows, and providing a significant part of the guerrillas’ income through extortion, kidnapping and the production and sale of cocaine.
Promotion
Mordisco was provisionally promoted to the unit’s commander after “Operation Jaque,” a 2008 military operation that resulted in the rescue of some of the FARC’s most high-profile hostages, including French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three American military contractors.
The 1st Front’s previous commanders, “Cesar” and “Gafas,” were captured in this operation.
Following the disastrous operation, the FARC leadership temporarily put Mordisco in charge of the 1st Front until “Kokoriko” was appointed the unit’s permanent commander and the current FARC dissident leaders was put in charge of public order in the region under 1st Front control.
Break with FARC
Tensions between the FARC’s central command and the 1st Front began when the guerrilla leadership began secret peace talks with the government of former President Juan Manuel Santos in 2011.
Mordisco and Kokoriko had been all about making money for years and weren’t as interested in a political career as the FARC leadership.
The two released a pamphlet in June 2016 in which they said they would not cease fire with the rest of the FARC in July that year ahead of the formal signing of the peace deal.
We have decided not to demobilize and will continue the fight to seize power by the people and for the people. Independently of the decision taken by the rest of the members of the guerrilla organization. We respect the decision of those who give up the armed struggle, lay down their arms and rejoin civilian life, we do not consider them our enemies.
First Front
Their announcement made the two 1st Front commanders the first official dissidents to the peace process.
Mordisco remained elusive, especially after his previous senior, “Gentil Duarte,” joined the dissidents in July 2016 after he was sent to Guaviare to impose order.
By the time the FARC members signed up to take part in the peace process in late 2016, it became clear that some 150 of the 1st Front’s 400 members decided to stick with Mordisco and Duarte.
Minority factions of other fronts that previously belonged to the FARC’s “Eastern Bloc” quickly joined the dissidents that would informally be called the Southeastern Bloc, which allowed the FARC dissidents to try to continue their guerrilla war with an estimated 400 fighters.
Rearmament
The April 2018 arrest of one of the FARC’s former dialogues, “Jesus Santrich,” on drug trafficking charges that had been fabricated by the US Government triggered a surge in FARC dissident groups, particularly in southwest Colombia.
The most important of these groups was the “Segunda Marquetalia” of the FARC’s former political chief, “Ivan Marquez,” who immediately began seeking an alliance with the Southeastern Bloc after announcing his rearmament in August 2019.
Mordisco was reportedly among the fiercest opponents of an alliance with Marquez and both began to seek the incorporation of rearmed guerrillas and new recruits to their rival guerrilla groups.
Instead of aligning with Marquez, the Southeastern Bloc began supporting the rearmament of FARC dissident groups in southwest Colombia.
This offensive allowed the creation of the CCO and the expansion of territorial control in the Cauca, Nariño and Valle del Cauca provinces in the first half of 2021.
Think tank Pares revealed in April 2022 that the number of members of the multiple FARC dissident groups had grown from 400 in late 2016 to 4,600.
Mordisco fake “death”
Military announces the fake death of Mordisco in “Operation Jupiter”
On July 15, 2022, Colombia’s security forces said Mordisco had been killed in an alleged military offensive called “Operation Jupiter.”
According to the military, the FARC dissident leader had been killed in a bombardment in San Vicente del Caguan, a municipality in the southern Caqueta province.
The announcement came weeks after the announced death of Duarte in Venezuela on May 4, but turned out to be fake in early August when Mordisco released a propaganda video announcing his interest in negotiating peace with President-elect Gustavo Petro.
Peace process
Peace Commissioner Danilo Rueda in talks with the Southeastern Bloc (Image: President’s Office)
The FARC dissident leader appeared in another video on September 23 to announce a ceasefire, which became a bilateral ceasefire on January 1 after Petro ordered the military to suspend operations against Mordisco’s guerrillas.
Following several exploratory talks between Peace Commissioner Danilo Rueda and EMC delegates, Petro announced the beginning of “a new peace process” with Mordisco and his guerrillas on March 14.
