Farc Dissident Who Ordered The Murder Of 36 People Sentenced To 27 Years In Prison
Soldiers of the Colombian Army. Photo: X/ @COL_EJERCITO
April 20, 2025 Hour: 2:35 pm
FARC dissident Jaider Poveda Méndez, alias ‘Jhonny Getial’, was sentenced to 27 years and 20 days in prison for ordering the murder of 36 people between 2020 and 2022 in the department of Valle del Cauca (southwest), the Prosecutor’s Office reported this Sunday.
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‘Jhonny Getial’, who was one of the leaders of the Jaime Martínez group of the Central General Staff (EMC), the largest FARC dissident group, “ordered the crimes as part of a directive from the illegal armed group to exert control over illicit income and generate anxiety among the civilian population,” the Prosecutor’s Office detailed in a statement.
The guerrilla leader had made a “pre-agreement” with the Prosecutor’s Office in which he confessed to ordering the commission of 19 murders in the municipality of Jamundí and 17 more in the towns of Dagua, Buenaventura, and Restrepo.
In this regard, a judge convicted him as responsible for the crimes of conspiracy to commit a crime; homicide; and manufacture, trafficking, carrying, or possession of firearms, accessories, parts, or ammunition, these three aggravated offenses, as well as finding him guilty of manufacturing, trafficking, carrying weapons, ammunition for restricted use, for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces, or explosives.
The FARC dissident was arrested on March 7, 2022, in a rural area of Buenaventura, a city that has Colombia’s main port on the Pacific, and has been detained in prison ever since.
“The sentence against him, in addition to denying any benefit or criminal surrogate, established a disqualification from exercising public rights and functions for 20 years,” the Prosecutor’s Office added.
The Colombian government began peace negotiations with the CME in 2023, which were interrupted by the split of the group due to belligerence on some fronts, especially in Cauca. This division led to an internal confrontation between factions led by ‘Iván Mordisco’ and ‘Calarcá Córdoba’.
In view of this situation, the government suspended dialogue with the dissidents of ‘Iván Mordisco’ and continues to negotiate with those of ‘Calarcá Córdoba’, now called the General Staff of the Blocs (EMB).
Source: EFE
