BOGOTA, Colombia The top rated leader with Colombia's principal rebel group, the actual bookish ideologue Alfonso Cano, had been wiped out Friday within a army raid inside the country's southwest, authorities said.
The passing had been a major victory for President Juan Manuel Santos, coming just over a 12 months following your military services mortally wounded that rebels' field marshal. It was everything although a lethal blow, however, to the close to half-century-old peasant-based insurgency.
Cano was killed in "a normal government operation" in Cauca state in a bombing raid then a strong attack through floor troops, reported one mature reliability public who seem to confirmed the death.
The official, exactly who said Cano was confidently revealed by way of their fingerprints, spoke on problem he not possibly be additionally identified.
Former President Andres Pastrana, who seem to understood Cano out of failed 1998-2002 serenity talks he / she held considering the rebels, advised The Associated Press the fact that dying "has to produce that FARC believe it can be burning off this war."
Cano, the actual 63-year-old scalp on the Revolutionary Armed Forces with Colombia, or maybe FARC, were the top goal of Colombian regulators because September 2010, after they killed that insurgency's military chief, Jorge Briceno, in the bombing raid.
Cano's loss of life isn't going to simply by any implies signal this imminent collapse connected with Latin America's very last remaining leftist rebel army , analysts said.
The FARC, which can be mostly financed by medication trafficking, is actually made of mainly regarding peasants from backwater spots who definitely have several additional opportunities in a very country where by land ownership is usually hugely targeted inside poker hands of a few.
Pastrana's peace commissioner over the unsuccessful calmness talks, Victor Ricardo, said Cano's death certainly not indicators the finish belonging to the rebels, who're believed to number about 9,000.
"This is really a blow to the FARC's morale," Ricardo told this AP. "But through absolutely no means can certainly people today imagine in which this could bring a great stop towards the FARC." The FARC has a self-displined government hierarchy and anyone is definitely usually around line to help advance, he said. Ricardo said the next innovator could possibly be the rebels regarded because Ivan Marquez or maybe Timochenko. Both are people with the FARC secretariat.
Still, Cano's loss of life had been the modern from a sequence of withering gives off towards the rebel leadership that started out in March 2008, when the FARC's foreign minister, Raul Reyes, seemed to be murdered from a bombing raid with a rebel camp across your national boundaries with Ecuador.
That very same month, the FARC's revered co-founder, Manuel Marulanda, past away in a hill hideout of the heart attack. He seemed to be regarded as 78.
Several additional major commanders ended up eventually put to sleep and rebel desertions, as well as associated with midlevel cadres, reached file levels.
And around July 2008, commandos posing when foreign support workers rescued ex - presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, a few U.S. navy countractors and 12 others within a bloodless ruse.
That all taken place any time Santos, now president, seemed to be defense minister under Alvaro Uribe. The a couple of built government achievement about billions of us dollars with U.S. aid, such as education and in close proximity intelligence-sharing.
Santos procured business throughout August the year 2010 along with appeared to be bouyed because of the dying of Briceno, who seem to was improved known by way of his nickname Mono Jojoy.
However, the particular FARC offers lately been recently regrouping as well as rural violence has become on an uptick.
Among officials confirming that death ended up being the actual governor of Cauca state, Alberto Gonzalez. His state possesses in recent months recently been your locus regarding stepped way up FARC violence.
A second security official reported Cano's shape was appearing taken to Popayan, that Cauca state capital. The official, also communicating in on affliction connected with anonymity, explained Cano, whose real appoint had been Guillermo Leon Saenz, had been nearly by yourself while your dog passed away from the assault within a countryside section of madrid of Suarez.
Santos have zero quick comment. A news convention was needed later at the actual Defense Ministry.
Ironically, Cano possessed inside a New Year's message praised the actual chief executive to get an gumption in which later started to be introduced when legislation in order to redress and return compromised property into a four million victims involving Colombia's long-running conflict.
Most involving people have been persons of far-right militias known as paramilitaries that contain fought from the FARC, which usually appeared to be formed within 1964.
Cano, that used the coarse spectacles and a beard, introduced various regarding training video email after Santos took office by which they urged that leader to have interaction around interview while using rebels.
But Santos was adamant this Cano wanted make a peace gesture, for instance halting many kidnappings. The FARC haven't performed that, in addition to its practitioners ended up held accountable intended for a couple assaults very last thirty day period that will put to sleep over 20 soldiers.
The number additionally supports an unfamiliar selection of kidnap victims, obviously including four Chinese oil personnel seized around June.
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Associated Press authors Cesar Garcia within Bogota along with Frank Bajak within Lima, Peru, contributed to the following report.
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