A French Foreign Legion soldier with dual French-Colombian nationality was kidnapped earlier this month in southwestern Colombia, the Colombian army confirmed on Thursday. José Olger Melo Charry, a corporal who joined the French army four years ago, was taken hostage on 6 August while travelling along a road in the department of Nariño — a region bordering Ecuador and the Pacific coast long dominated by armed guerrilla factions. The kidnapping was disclosed publicly more than three weeks after it occurred.

The group believed responsible is the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), the principal dissident faction of the FARC — the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — which formally demobilised under a landmark 2016 peace agreement. Members who refused to accept that deal regrouped as the EMC, which is now reportedly led by a commander known as Iván Mordisco, currently Colombia's most-wanted guerrilla. According to a Colombian army report seen by AFP, the rebels seized Melo Charry specifically after realising he was a serving member of the French Foreign Legion, suggesting his military affiliation made him a deliberate target. Armed groups across Colombia routinely use kidnappings as a tool of extortion or to exert pressure on authorities, financing their operations primarily through drug trafficking and illegal mining.

Melo Charry was on leave in his home country at the time of the abduction. Colombian army Colonel Mauricio Osorio confirmed his rank and service history in a radio interview on Thursday, while French authorities have not yet made a formal public statement.

The kidnapping comes at a sensitive moment for Colombia's new government. President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office in early August, has signalled a hard-line approach to guerrilla groups and drug traffickers, with backing from the United States — a sharp shift from the policy of his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla member himself who pursued peace negotiations. Those talks largely failed, and security analysts note that several armed groups grew stronger during that period. The case of a foreign soldier being held hostage is likely to add international pressure on Bogotá to secure his release and demonstrates the continued reach and audacity of FARC dissident factions despite years of military operations against them.