According to the departmental president, the residents would not be allowing the troops to collect the bodies of the criminals, because they are being instrumentalized by the Farc dissidents.
Governor Andrés Julián Rendón reported on the possible neutralization of guerrillas who killed journalist Mateo Pérez – credit @AndresJRendonC/X The communicator disappeared on May 5, 2026, in the municipality of Briceño. His family and the authorities initiated the corresponding search efforts. His relatives suspected that he had been murdered, due to information they received from the inhabitants of the place and, until May 8, it was possible to corroborate that theory.That day, the journalist’s body was found in a rural area located between the Palmichal and El Hoyo paths. “He was murdered by Jhon Edison Chalá Torrejano of the Darío Gutiérrez front, which is a group divided from the 36th front, now completely fragmented into various criminal groups. The murder occurred in the El Hoyo path of the municipality of Briceño”, indicated President Gustavo Petro at the time.
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President Gustavo Petro provided details of the murder of journalist Mateo Pérez – credit @petrogustavo/X According to the Head of State, the Government was not advancing any type of peace negotiation with the criminal organization led by “Chalá”, which is dedicated to illegal gold mining. However, the front led by the guerrilla fighter was part of the 36th front of the Farc dissidents commanded by Alexander Díaz Mendoza, alias Calarcá. The Petro government has indeed advanced peace dialogues with the dissidents of “Calarcá”, whom it also appointed as a spokesperson in the negotiations. This allowed the Attorney General’s Office to suspend the arrest warrants against him, which have not been able to be reactivated. Therefore, the administration was questioned and accused of granting benefits to criminals who continue to commit crimes and assassinate civilians like journalist Mateo Pérez. The Jorge Suárez bloc, led by Gentil Duarte in Magdalena Medio and the Raúl Reyes joint command, of the FARC dissidents, issued a statement in which it disclaimed responsibility for the communicator’s murder. It indicated that the people of the 36th front who killed the young journalist did so “in a personal capacity, without authorization, without consultation.” The high command of the armed group assured that the young man’s assassins acted on their own account – AFP credit “The murder of journalist Mateo Pérez Rueda was never authorized by this national direction. No military or political reason justifies the attack against people dedicated to informing, even if they were political opponents. The armed confrontation occurs between armed actors, not against the civilian population”, asserted the armed group in the statement.
