International
The FARC dissident ‘Iván Márquez’ reappears in a video after being presumed dead
The FARC dissident ‘Iván Márquez’, leader of the Second Marquetalia and who was the chief peace negotiator of the former guerrilla, reappeared in a video after being presumed dead in an attack in Venezuela in July 2022.
In the video ‘Márquez’, reappeared for the first time in an audio and whose survival was confirmed by several authorities, he spoke about different issues of conjuncture such as the proposal of the Constituent Assembly of President Gustavo Petro.
Precisely what shows that the video is recent are the statements he made regarding Petro’s initiative, presented last March during a government act in Cali, the main city in southwestern Colombia, given the difficulty he has in getting Congress to approve its reforms, where his support has diminished.
“On March 15, President Petro (…) spoke of opening a constituent process in Colombia. Let’s go for the all or nothing, no more decades and centuries of deception and oppression,” added ‘Márquez’.
The video published during the ´ Vichada Binational Forum: Territory of Peace, Life and Biodiversity´, held in the municipality of Puerto Carreño, capital of the department of Vichada (border with Venezuela).
During the event, in which national, regional and local authorities participated, as well as representatives of the public forces, the attendees saw the 17 minutes of the intervention of the head of the Second Marquetalia.
In August 2019, almost three years after signing the peace ‘Iván Márquez’, who was also number two of the FARC, announced that he was taking up arms at the head of a dissidence called Second Marquetalia, in reference to the birthplace of the FARC more than half a century ago, for alleged non-compliance by the Government.
In 2022, his alleged death was reported in an attack perpetrated by another armed group with which the Second Marquetalia was disputing the Colombian-Venezuelan border, where the groups are hidden, and the illicit businesses that circulate there.
However, that dissidence attributed the attack to the Colombian security forces and denied the death, and in September 2022 the Colombian Government confirmed that ‘Márquez’ was alive, but “sick, convalescent.”
Then the ‘Márquez’ himself reappeared in an audio on August 2, 2023 in a speech ahead of the first year of the president’s government, in which he claimed that he was alive.
In October 2023, the then High Commissioner of Peace, Danilo Rueda, confirmed that ‘Márquez’ “is in Colombia” and his state of health is good.
Luciano Marín Arango, 68 years old, was born on June 16, 1955 in Florence, capital of the southern department of Caquetá, and his history indicates that in the early 1980s he was linked to the 14 Front of the FARC, where he climbed positions until he became part of the guerrilla leadership.
At the beginning of February, the Colombian Government and the Second Marquetalia announced the start of a peace process, which will be the third to be undertaken by the current Executive, after those installed with the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Central General Staff (EMC), the main group of dissidents of the FARC.
The statement, signed on February 1, also points out that the Second Marquetalia undertakes not to kidnap civilians, although there is still no date or more details about the start of the dialogues with the dissent led by ‘Márquez’.
International
Mexican authorities bust Meth Lab and seize tons of drugs and chemicals in multiple states
Mexican authorities dismantled a clandestine laboratory containing 2.5 tons of methamphetamine in the southeastern state of Chiapas, seized a warehouse with more than four tons of chemical precursors in Guerrero (south), and intercepted a trailer in Tijuana attempting to cross into the United States with 2.7 tons of drugs.
Omar García Harfuch, head of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), reported on Saturday via social media that agents from the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), along with representatives from the Defense Secretariat, Navy (Semar), National Guard (GN), and SSPC, disabled the methamphetamine production lab in Chiapas and confiscated 2.5 tons of the drug.
A statement specified that the agents secured 2.5 tons of methamphetamine, barrels containing substances used to manufacture synthetic drugs, a firearm, and four trucks. In another operation in Guerrero, authorities located over four tons of chemical substances.
The discovery took place on a property in the community of Margarita Maza, Juárez, used to store materials for synthetic drug production. Sufficient evidence was collected and presented to a control judge who authorized the intervention of the property.
In Chiapas, authorities also seized more than 300 barrels and containers with chemicals for making synthetic drugs, as well as various metal containers and devices.
International
Maduro gains support from Venezuelan Assembly amid U.S. drug trafficking accusations
The National Assembly of Venezuela expressed its support this Saturday for President Nicolás Maduro, condemning the United States’ increase in the reward offered for his capture as an “act of aggression.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Thursday that Washington had doubled the reward to $50 million for Maduro’s capture, labeling him as one of the “world’s largest drug traffickers.”
“We reject the absurd and desperate actions announced by the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, which are clearly illegal and lack any real basis, beyond being a delirious attempt of aggression against the president (…) and against our rebellious and brave people,” said the Assembly leader, Jorge Rodríguez, while reading a letter he said was unanimously approved by the deputies.
“It is precisely President Nicolás Maduro (…) the protector of the strong democracy that shelters us and the leader who firmly upholds the rule of law and justice,” Rodríguez continued. He is also Venezuela’s chief negotiator in talks with Washington.
Bondi accused Maduro of using “terrorist organizations like the Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa cartel, and the Cartel of the Suns to introduce lethal drugs and violence” into the United States.
“In 25 years of revolution, we have resisted and advanced despite constant imperialist aggressions. They have not succeeded, and will not succeed, with crude sanctions, criminal blockades, or senseless threats in diverting the noble path the Venezuelan people charted in the free elections of July 28, 2024, in which Nicolás Maduro was elected President of the Republic,” the statement read.
The Venezuelan opposition alleges fraud in those elections and claims victory, and as a result, has boycotted the 2025 legislative, regional, and municipal elections.
International
U.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million
In February, the United States designated eight Latin American criminal organizations as “global terrorist” groups, including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and the MS-13 gang. In July, it added the Cartel of the Suns to the list — a group Washington claims is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Last Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, raising it from $25 million to $50 million, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on social media platform X.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that labeling the Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization allows for a strategic shift in dealing with the Venezuelan regime, as it is now also considered a direct threat to U.S. national security, according to El Espectador.
In an interview with The World Over on EWTN, Rubio said the designation enables the U.S. to “use intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, or any other element of American power to go after them.” He stressed this is no longer just a law enforcement matter, but a national security operation.
When asked at the White House whether he believes it is worth sending the military to combat Latin American drug cartels, Trump responded:
“Latin America has many cartels, a lot of drug trafficking, so, you know, we want to protect our country. We have to protect it.”
Mexican authorities bust Meth Lab and seize tons of drugs and chemicals in multiple states
Maduro gains support from Venezuelan Assembly amid U.S. drug trafficking accusations
U.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million
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