Elí Mejía Mendoza (1938 – May 19, 2025) better known by his alias Martín Sombra was a Colombian guerrilla, and member of the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

of the

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in ...

(FARC).

Biography

Mendoza was born in La Dorada. He became part of the FARC-EP in 1966, where he would be close to

Manuel Marulanda Pedro Antonio Marín Marín (13 May 1930 – 26 March 2008), known by his "nom de guerre" Manuel Marulanda Vélez, was the founder and main leader of the Marxist–Leninist FARC-EP ("''Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército ...

, and in 1986 he was commissioned to create the Ciro Trujillo Company to enter Casanare. As part of the command of the Eastern Bloc of the FARC-EP, he participated in the attack on the Girasoles military base in 1992. He was also known as the jailer of the FARC-EP, as he was in charge of the custody of the hostages. He held dialogues with the Bolivarian Guerrillas of Venezuela. In 2008, he was arrested on his way to Saboyá. He took advantage of the Justice and Peace Law, designed by the government of

Álvaro Uribe Vélez Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish language, Spanish, Galician language, Galician and Portuguese language, Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez (surname), ...

and in 2010 he was sentenced to 24 years for the Taking of Mitú ('' Operation Marquetalia).'' Around 2017, he was released. But he was recaptured on February 1, 2020, for the kidnapping of cattle rancher Samuel Estupiñán in 2017. On May 19, 2025, he died at the El Tunal Hospital in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, at the age of 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sombra, Martin 1938 births 2025 deaths Members of FARC Colombian guerrillas