Colombia: they announced the “alleged death” of the FARC dissident chief

Four days before Colombia’s presidential election, that country’s defense minister, Diego Molano, announced the “believed death” of the dissident chief of the dissolved guerilla of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), aliases Duarte was kindwho would have fallen in a confrontation with “drug-trafficking” gangs in Venezuela.

“Intelligence information from Colombia revealed the alleged death of alias Gentil Duarte in Venezuela’s state of Zulia a confrontation between (…) drug trafficking and terrorist groups“, the official told the press.

Despite the fact that Miguel Botache Santillana, better known by his pseudonym Gentil Duarte, participated in the peace talks between the government and FARC that took place in Havana and culminated in the signing of the agreement in 2016, he was one of the first guerrilla leaders to return to armed struggle.

Since then, the 59-year-old rebel has led a dissident faction known as the Southeastern Bloc, which, according to independent reports, has a shock force consisting of approximately 1,700 fighters. Its field of action is mainly on the border of Venezuela and Colombian Amazon.

According to the newspaper El Tiempo, citing intelligence sources from both countries, Duarte died in early May from an explosion at his jungle camp, located near the municipality of Casigua del Cubo, about eight kilometers from the border. The government is offering a reward of up to $ 1 million for information on his whereabouts.

Ivan Duque, president of Colombia, described the assumed death as “good news”. “All symbols of evil must disappear,” he emphasized in a statement shared with journalists.

The Southeast Bloc is disputing drug trafficking routes with another FARC dissident faction known as the Second Marquetalia and the National Liberation Army (ELN), the country’s last recognized guerrilla group.

“It’s another proof, if this fact can be confirmed, that is the Maduro regime protects terrorist groups and drug traffickersIt’s on their soil, “Molano launched. Then, he stressed that Duarte had fled that country that was harassed by the persecution of the Colombian army.

Caracas has repeatedly denied accusations by the Duque government about the shelter it allegedly provides to Colombian armed groups and did not specify Botache’s alleged death.

Another important collapse of the Colombian guerrillas

In December, El Paisa and Romagna, two of the main leaders of the Second Marquetalia, fell into the hands of armed men in Venezuela. Jesús Santrich, another rebel leader who left the peace treaty, also fell on Venezuelan soil in May 2021, though his death has not been officially confirmed.

If there is no unified mandate, dissidents have some 5,200 militants distributed in different regions of the country, according to data from the NGO Indepaz, and These are mainly funded from drug trafficking and the illegal exploitation of gold and other minerals..

85 percent of the guerrillas were new recruits who were never part of the dead rebel organization, according to information provided by the same source.

With information from the AFP

DB