He joined the FARC in the mid-1970s. He became a member of the Central Command Structure (Estado Mayor Central), a member of the Secretariat, and head of the Caribbean Bloc. In 1986, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the department of Caquetá as an alternate (for the UP). He was named a member of the Secretariat in 1989. He was a FARC delegate in the peace talks held in Venezuela and Mexico. He was the first commander of the Southern Bloc, where he carried out operations to penetrate Putumayo and Amazonas.
