BOGOTA, Colombia

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Wednesday that dissidents of the FARC rebel group function as a "private army" for Mexican drug cartels, stressing the importance of combating guerrilla groups for national sovereignty.

In a statement on X, Petro condemned an attack Tuesday by FARC dissidents, former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia who rejected a 2016 peace agreement between the government and the rebels.

Official sources said that an ambush by members of the Carlos Patiño Front drug trafficking column resulted in the deaths of five military personnel, severe injuries to three, and blast injuries to 13 others.

The soldiers were engaged in rebuilding a bridge destroyed by dissidents in the Micay Canyon, a region in southwestern Colombia plagued by armed conflict and cocaine production.

The government alleges that foreign criminal organizations purchase coca leaves from Colombian farmers, process them into cocaine and smuggle the drugs out of the country with the assistance of local groups.

This military incident contributes to escalating violence in the Cauca Department, a region destabilized by drug trafficking and the presence of numerous illegal armed groups, including FARC dissidents and the National Liberation Army.

Recent months have seen persistent attacks on civilians and security forces in the area.

Some 28 police officers were kidnapped last Thursday in the villages of El Plateado and La Hacienda, located in the municipalities of Argelia and El Tambo, respectively. The officers were released on Saturday to a humanitarian mission.

The Ministry of the Interior said Wednesday that the civilian population is being coerced into acting against law enforcement.