The attack on the Gulf Clan took place in the northwestern Choco region, General Hugo Lopez said on X, as Colombia endures its worst bout of violence in a decade.

The South American nation is preparing to select a new president in a second round of voting on June 21, and the government is looking to flaunt its ability to handle guerrilla violence -- a central theme of the election.

President Gustavo Petro's administration has been holding Qatar-based talks with the Gulf Clan since last year.

In the coming weeks, some of its members are expected to arrive in specially designated rural areas to negotiate official agreements.

But the cartel's lawyer recently said striking a peace deal with Petro was an "impossible" task.

Colombia's first-ever leftist leader has tried and failed to negotiate peace with the country's myriad armed groups, which reap enormous profits through drug trafficking, illegal mining and extortion.

Petro's critics accuse him of being soft on criminal organizations, which grew stronger during his term, intelligence data shows.

The June 21 run-off will see hard-right millionaire lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella face off against leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda.

Cepeda, an architect of Petro's "total peace" strategy, told AFP in an interview on Thursday that he was willing to make any necessary changes to the plan.

Frontrunner De la Espriella meanwhile favors a hardline crackdown on armed groups.

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