“I want to inform the country that thanks to Operation #Jaguar of our glorious @COL_EJERCITO [Colombian Army], in the municipality of Suárez, Cauca, Leider Johany Noscue, alias ‘Mayimbú,’ leader of FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia] dissident groups and one of Colombia’s most wanted criminals, was neutralized,” Colombian President Iván Duque said June 13 via Twitter. Defense Minister Diego Molano Aponte also corroborated the information on Twitter: “Operation ‘Jaguar’ dealt a resounding blow to FARC dissidents. Congratulations to our soldiers and police for their dedicated work and commitment, for freeing Colombia from ‘Mayimbú,’ a symbol of evil that is out of circulation.”
Acts of violence
Mayimbú, 31, was wanted for acts of violence committed since 2010, including the murder of several social leaders in Cauca, such as Suárez mayoral candidate Karina García, killed in 2019 in a car bombing in Santander de Quilichao, which also killed three police officers. That same year, Mayimbú kidnapped and murdered a Technical Investigation Corps official at an illegal roadblock in Caloto (Cauca), among many other acts of violence, the El Universal news site reported. According to the Colombian newspaper, authorities had issued five arrest warrants against Mayimbú for a massacre in the village of Palma de Coco, in the municipality of Olaya Herrera, Nariño, and for four homicides in Nariño and Cauca.
Gentil Duarte
According to the Colombian government, the dissident groups under Gentil Duarte, to which Mayimbú belonged, are one of two factions founded by former FARC members who rejected the 2016 Peace Accord. Mayimbú commanded 12 FARC dissident groups with more than 1,800 fighters, General Luis Fernando Navarro, commander of the Colombian Military Forces, said.
Although some 13,000 former FARC members demobilized under the peace agreement, others remained armed under Gentil Duarte’s group and a second group known as the Second Marquetalia led by Iván Márquez.
Several top FARC dissident leaders have been neutralized. Colombian intelligence services reported in May that Gentil Duarte was presumed dead after clashes with rival armed groups in Venezuela.
“Mayimbú’s death will affect the goal of dissident groups to consolidate mobility corridors previously dominated by the FARC’s Western Bloc,” El Universal reported.