The General Staff of Blocks and Front (Estado Mayor de Bloques y Frente – EMBF) is a Colombian criminal organization whose roots trace back to the country’s armed, leftist guerrilla movement. It’s main criminal activities are drug trafficking, illegal mining, and extortion.
History
The EMBF is a federation of dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) that trace their origins to former guerrillas who rejected the peace process between the FARC and the Colombian government in 2016. These dissidents initially regrouped into a loosely connected network known as the Central General Staff (Estado Mayor Central – EMC).
In 2024, the EMBF emerged as a breakaway coalition from the EMC, consolidating several of these factions under a separate command structure after an internal disagreement over the group’s participation in a new peace process launched in 2022 by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, called Total Peace (Paz Total).
Petro suspended a ceasefire agreement with the EMC in March 2024 in the departments of Cauca, Valle del Cauca, and Nariño, after a faction of the group killed an Indigenous leader in Cauca. The move sparked internal tensions within the EMC: some blocs pushed to continue dialogue, while others refused to re-engage until a nationwide ceasefire was restored.
At a meeting in April 2024, the Colombian government and select EMC delegates agreed to continue peace talks. Notably absent, however, were representatives from EMC blocs in Cauca, Valle del Cauca, and Arauca, which were loyal to the group’s leader, former FARC First Front commander Néstor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias “Iván Mordisco.”
The factions that remained in the peace process – the Jorge Suárez Briceño Bloc, the Magdalena Medio Bloc, and the Commander Raúl Reyes Front – became known as the EMBF, led by former FARC commander Alexander Díaz, alias “Calarcá Córdoba.”
In October 2024, the government extended a ceasefire with the EMBF for six months while negotiations continued. But after an April 2025 ambush in Guaviare that left seven soldiers dead, the government declined to renew the ceasefire.
Leadership
The EMBF is composed of three main substructures: the Jorge Suárez Briceño Bloc, the Magdalena Medio Bloc, and the Commander Raúl Reyes Front.
The Jorge Suárez Briceño Bloc is led by Calarcá Córdoba, who is widely regarded as the overall commander of the EMBF.
The Magdalena Medio Bloc is commanded by a figure who uses the alias “Richard Suárez.” One of its key figures is Javier Alonso Velosa, alias “Jhon Mechas,” who leads the 33rd Front. Another prominent EMBF member is Carlos Eduardo García Téllez, alias “Andrey Avendaño,” a former EMC negotiator who retained the same role in the EMBF after the split.
Geography
The EMBF operates across multiple regions of Colombia, often vying for control in important areas for mining operations and coca cultivation that are contested by several criminal groups, in areas such as Catatumbo, Bajo Cauca, Antioquia, and southern Bolívar.
The group also maintains a strong presence in Putumayo, Caquetá, Huila, Amazonas, Meta, Guaviare, Tolima, and Cauca.
Allies and Enemies
The EMBF’s alliances and rivalries vary widely depending on the region and the specific substructures or fronts involved. In the Catatumbo region along Colombia’s eastern border with Venezuela, the EMBF’s 33rd Front has been locked in a fierce battle with the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN) since January 2025. The conflict has spilled into the Serranía del Perijá mountain range in the neighboring department of Cesar.
In contrast, in Bajo Cauca, Antioquia, and the Middle Magdalena region, EMBF fronts have formed tactical alliances with the ELN to resist the expansion of the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC) in key mining areas. The violence in these zones has displaced hundreds of residents from municipalities in Antioquia, such as Remedios, Segovia, Anorí, and El Bagre.
Across much of southern Colombia, the EMBF’s main rival remains the EMC. The two factions clash in at least five departments, including Caquetá, Amazonas, Meta, Putumayo, and Guaviare.
Prospects
The EMBF’s future remains uncertain as demobilization negotiations with the Colombian government are on shaky ground. The group is likely to maintain its involvement in illicit economies and continue violent clashes with rival groups to dispute key areas for illegal economies such as cocaine and drug trafficking.