Former Colombian rebel leader believed dead appears in video

He leads a FARC faction called Segunda Marquetalia, which has around 1,600 members, according to military intelligence.

Colombian media speculated in July about his death following an attack in Venezuela in 2022, but the government dismissed the rumors. Police announced in March that he was in Colombia.

In an excerpt from the 16-minute video published by the newspaper El País on Saturday, Marquez can be seen wearing a T-shirt and glasses.

AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the recording.

“A Bolivarian constitution for Colombia would be an extraordinary idea,” says Marquez, whose real name is Luciano Marin, referring to Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s proposal to create a constituent assembly.

“The winds of change are blowing and awakening the hope of the masses,” he said.

According to El Pais, the recording was presented during a peace forum in Colombia’s eastern Vichada region, near the border with Venezuela.

Marquez took part in the negotiations in Havana that led to the historic 2016 ceasefire agreement.

He briefly returned to civilian life and was elected senator until August 2019, when he appeared wearing camouflage clothing and carrying a rifle in a video announcing his new rebellion.

Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president, has sought to end the six-decade conflict between the country’s security forces, guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs.

In February, Petro’s government and Marquez’s Segunda Marquetalia announced the start of talks but gave no date.

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