Colombian army bombarded guerrilla enclave located on ecuadorian soil and removed the bodies
Number two man in the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) hierarchy, Raul Reyes, died early morning yesterday in a colombian armed forces operative when he was asleep in a encampment located in ecuadorian territory 1.800 meters from the border between Colombia and Ecuador.
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Reyes was one of the FARC'S seven-member secretariat equivalent to a military high command, and for the last few years had become the most visible leader of this rebel group of 17.000 combatants since Manuel Marulanda (dead shot) has not been seen since 2002.
Juan Manuel Santos, colombian minister of Defense declared at a press conference that Reyes died together with 16 other combatants in a joint air-ground operation which information was relayed to Rafael Correa from Alvaro Uribe, his colleague.
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The fifty-nine year-old Reyes, whose real name was Luis Edgar Devia (guerrillas always change their name) was a spokeman for the FARC and the main negotiator for the guerrilla during peace negotiations with president Andres Pastrana (1998-2002).
This military operative ocurred closely to the Teteyé hamlet, in the Putumayo department deep in the jungle on the border with the ecuadorian province of Sucumbíos later transferred to Bogotá.
This is the most severe blow to the colombian rebels since Uribe ascended to power in 2002. The last great blow also ocurred in Ecuador when Simon Trinidad or Ricardo Palmera one of leading members of this group was captured in Quito, January 1st. of 2004. He was later extradited to the United States and recently condemned by a court in that country for kidnapping three american contractors in Colombia.
The guerrilla fighter's death ocurred three days after the FARC delivered four ex-congressmen to a humanitarian mission led by the venezuelan government after keeping them sequestered for over six years.
At the conference, neither minister Santos, nor the military commanders answered questions regarding the operation itself, such as if colombian troops crossed over to Ecuador or if the guerrillas, settled in a camp in Sucumbíos, 1.800 meters from the borderline, advanced onto colombian territory.
"Raul Reyes was declared a casualty", declared an obviously moved minister together with military commanders and the National Police Director Oscar Naranjo.
Rebel corpses were transported to a village in the Putumayo department, in Southern Colombia on the border with Ecuador, the colombian Ministry of Defense, confirmed the deceasement of a soldier who was identified as Carlos Hernández León.
The operation began at 00:25 by bombarding a guerrilla base established in Granada, a place in Southern Colombia bordering with Ecuador where Reyes was supposed to arrive last friday night. The assault was followed by a troop and police landing transported by helicopters.
"Those units were attacked" declared Santos, "from a FARC encapment located on the ecuadorian side" in a place called Santa Rosa and Hernández died in the fire exchange.
According to the operation's military reports the airforce received target coordinates and proceeded to attack the encapment from the colombian side "keeping in mind, always the order not to violate ecuadorian air space".
Once the encapment was bombarded, the orders were that colombian troops would enter Ecuador to secure the area and neutralize the enemy", explained Santos and pointed out that furthermore the police was requested to keep the area secure until the arrival of ecuadorian authorities".
It was not clear, offhand, what effect would Reyes' death have on the hostages in the hands of the FARC during the last six to ten years, among them the french-colombian ex presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, sequestered in February of 2002.
The FARC are the eldest active guerrilla group in America and they number avout 17.000 combatants.
Uribe declared that Colombia had taken a decisive step towards the defeat of terrorism having slain Reyes. "Today we have taken another step in the process of recuperating the colombian people's respect, the respect our people deserve, another step taken in that direction which will defeat bloodthirsty terrorism", said Uribe in a press declaration in Medellín.
Uribe was grateful for president Correa's collaboration in the military operation. Local media revealed images showing Reyes slain with head wounds and wearing a white t-shirt with a semblance of Tirofijo (dead shot).
Reyes was the son of school teacher and a farmer. He was an engineer who worked at Nestlé before he joined the guerrillas, he was Marulanda's son in law. The colombian government offered a $2.7 million reward for information leading to his capture or death. The United States also offered $ 5 million.