Colombian military police kill a key leader of an anti-government armed group

Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on the evening of the 20th through social media that the Colombian military and national police had killed the top leader of the anti-government armed group "Mordisco" in a joint operation in the southwest of the country. Sanchez stated that the operation took place in the rural area of Buenaventura, in the Cauca Valley province of Colombia. The leader is suspected of crimes including murder, forced recruitment of minors, drug trafficking, and terrorist attacks. "Mordisco" is an illegal armed organization that split from the original anti-government armed group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Colombian government signed a peace agreement with the FARC in 2016 to end a decades-long conflict. The FARC disarmed the following year and transformed into a political party, but some members opposed and formed their own faction.