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Troops kill senior Farc leader (BBC)

Troops kill senior Farc leader
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7272832.stm

Reyes was Farc's first secretariat member to be killed in combat.

A top commander of Colombia's left-wing guerrillas the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) has been killed in combat, the government says.

Colombia's Defence Minister described the death of Raul Reyes as the "biggest blow so far" to Farc.

Reyes, 59, also known as Luis Edgar
Devia, is the first member of Farc's ruling
secretariat to be killed in combat in the
group's 44-year history.

He died with 17 other rebels during an attack near the Ecuadorian border.

Reyes was killed in an air raid followed by a ground operation that left 18 guerrillas dead, Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said on Saturday.

The rebels had been on the Ecuadorian side of the border, across from the province of Putumayo, when the attack was called in, so permission had been gained from Ecuadorian President Rafael Correo Delgado before the strike went ahead, Mr Santos said.

International spokesman

The BBC's Jeremy McDermott, in Medellin, says the military defeat of the Farc has been a corner-stone of President Alvaro Uribe's administration since he came to power in 2002.

The killing of a leading figure within Farc's secretariat, whose members are renowned for dying peacefully in old age, means the group's aura of invincibility has evaporated, our correspondent adds.

Farc has been involved in conflict in
Colombia for four decades

As well as being on Farc's seven-member secretariat, Reyes acted as the group's international spokesman and had led Farc's negotiating team in unsuccessful peace talks that began in 2002.

Colombia's government has received billions of dollars in aid to fight the rebels from the US administration, which along with the EU, views Farc as a terrorist organisation.

While Colombian troops have recently retaken control of areas previously held by rebel groups, the rebels retain a strong hold over Colombia's more remote regions.

Despite recent hostage releases brokered by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, scores of hostages - including the French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt - are still being held by the rebel group.

By sloopskipper on Mar 1, 2008, 08:35 in Politics & the war.

sloopskipper says on Mar 1, 2008, 08:42:

bump

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tasco66 says on Mar 1, 2008, 09:01:

Muerto Raúl Reyes, miembro del Secretariado de las Farc, confirma ministro de Defensa

http://www.eltiempo.com/conflicto/noticias/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-...

Who said Uribe could not win this war?

Not being bound to swear to the dogmas of any master

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tasco66 says on Mar 1, 2008, 09:03:

"Es el golpe más duro a las Farc en toda su historia", dijo Juan Manuel Santos

Farc is going down real fast...the furure looks much better for Colombia

Not being bound to swear to the dogmas of any master

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msaucey says on Mar 1, 2008, 09:07:

Another one for the good guys! Yippeee.... The true evil empire will fall....

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

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Medellin Traveler says on Mar 1, 2008, 09:11:

I was wondering the FARC reacts to this, after releasing the hostages. I don't believe I've read anything were they're saying they will retaliate for the death and/or capture of any FARC members.

Why?

"Huevos Rancheros en Medellin, No Quiero Taco Bell." - www.medellintraveler.com

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tasco66 says on Mar 1, 2008, 09:18:

Maybe now that the top Farc leaders can be killed too, they may become more interested in peace talks…

Not being bound to swear to the dogmas of any master

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huskie says on Mar 1, 2008, 10:07:

Yeah!!!!! Way to go
Cheers

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds-"

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SiV says on Mar 1, 2008, 10:18:

What news! I hope the Farc don't develop a cornered-rat mentality, and take retribution against the hostages.

Stultórum númere infinitum est.

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sloopskipper says on Mar 1, 2008, 10:27:

It seems that can't possibly treat them much worse. It sounds like some would consider death a blessing.

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kabigat says on Mar 1, 2008, 13:47:

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! papa pitufo MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!
Cerdo de engorde, alegrémonos porque este tipo no era humano era inhumano una bestia.
Que no haya paz en su tumba.

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SiV says on Mar 1, 2008, 20:10:

The more I think about this, the more of a strategic error killing Raul Reyes seems to me. Don't get me wrong, I don't care so much that he was killed, it's the living I'm more worried about. Reyes was one of the chief negotiators with the govt., and I imagine with Chavez. He was also one of the political leaders, not a military leader. If it'd been Briceño, it'd left the Farc disorietated militarily, now the govt has lost a key proponent within the Farc for a political solution, and left power with the military chief, Briceño, who is a real piece of work.

I think the implications for the secuestrados are going to be bleak. I can imagine the maltreatment, even more so than normally, they are going to suffer, especially the ex-state forces, police, soldiers, etc. I think the chances of any more releases have now flown out of the window, leaving the secuestrados and their families facing a slow death.

Yes, I imagine it will demoralise the Farc, which is positive, hopefully there'll be more guerrilla desertions now. But it could be that this short-sighted gung-ho act is at the cost of the long-term: a peaceful political solution, and that it will simply prolong the conflict, and most importantly, cost more lives (read innocent civilians, as they are always the prime casualty in modern warfare, especially in Colombia) in the long run.

I hope my pessimistic analysis proves to be wrong.

Stultórum númere infinitum est.

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scotty says on Mar 2, 2008, 03:40:

good shootin guys

Get Rhythm, when you got the blues. Johnny Cash

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SiV says on Mar 2, 2008, 07:22:

Yee-ha, Scotty! Let's kick some guerilla ass! Now just where is that Cur-lumbia? Next to I-raq?

Stultórum númere infinitum est.

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