He was a member of JUCO and the National Union of Secondary School Students (UNES, in Spanish), when he left for the USSR. When he returned, he was promoted by the Colombian Communist Party to the FARC as a political quota in 1981. As part of the UP’s activities, he carried out organizational work in the 1st Front’s and 16th Front’s areas. He participated in the El Caguán negotiations from 1999 to 2002. He transitioned to being a Patriotic Union member in the wake of the peace accords signed in 1984. He was designated an alternate member of the Secretariat in 2003 and, from 2008 on, became a full member. He became a member of the Secretariat, member of the Central Command Structure (Estado Mayor Central), and head of the Southern Bloc.
