Early on Sunday morning, a group of FARC dissidents attacked a police substation in El Carmelo, southwest Cauca, a region critical for coca production and trafficking.
According to General Carlos Fernando Tirana, they threw explosives at the substation, causing it to catch fire. Four police officers were injured, and one was killed.
The same day, there were also reports of other incidents across Cauca in Silvia, Caloto, Toribío, Cajibío, and Miranda.
Carmelo is located in a part of Cauca with a high density of coca cultivation (used to make cocaine) while the nearby Micay river provides easy transport to trafficking hubs on the Pacific coast.
The reporting on this incident does not specify which FARC dissident faction is responsible for the attack, and none have claimed responsibility. But there’s a good chance it’s the Carlos Patiño front, which is aligned with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC).
The Carlos Patiño front has an established presence in Argelia, Balboa, El Tambo, Patía, and Rosas, a belt of municipalities that line the Andean corridor of southwestern Cauca. El Carmelo is in this area.
The use of explosives also mirrors previous Carlos Patiño attacks. In August 2025, the group was reportedly responsible for attacking a military base in Cali with cylinder bombs. Earlier, in June 2024, they attacked a military patrol in El Plateado with explosive drones.
But this might be another group entirely. The Jamie Martinez Front is a smaller EMC-aligned front that fought the army in Patia in 2024 and the Western Bloc of the EMC itself operates in the area occasionally (but generally sticks to more coastal areas).
The Dagoberto Ramos column has also had a few select sightings in Cauca, around Caldono. Teachers noted the group’s banners in a school in Manuelico.
But every piece of evidence for the presence of these other groups indicates they are further away from Carmelo than the Carlos Patiño front.
If it is the Carlos Patiño front, then the attack would fit into a pattern of resistance to the government’s attempts to reassert control in this part of Cauca.
Last year, the government attempted to address growing violence in the region by launching a massive operation, “Operation Perseus,” targeting El Plateado, a stronghold of the Carlos
Patiño front. Despite initial efforts to claim success, this effort failed to dislodge the group.
In March, the Carlos Patiño front ambushed a military convoy in the Cañon de del Micay, killing five and injuring 16 more. The same month, the group had kidnapped 27 police officers and 2 soldiers in El Plateado, later releasing them.
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