Ocean Seal
5th November 2011, 20:26
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombians rejoiced at the killing of top FARC rebel leader Alfonso Cano and hoped the biggest blow yet against Latin America's longest insurgency could herald an end to nearly five decades of war.
In a triumph for President Juan Manuel Santos' security policy, forces bombed a FARC mountain hideout in southwestern Cauca region, killing several rebels, officials said.
Troops then rappelled down from helicopters to search the area, killing the widely-hated Marxist rebel boss in a gun battle during the operation on Friday.
Pictures of his dead body -- with his trademark beard shaven off -- were broadcast on television. Six laptop computers were found along with 39 memory sticks, cellular phones and cash in pesos, dollars and euros.
The death of the former student activist, who had a $3.7 million bounty on his head, is unlikely to spell a quick end to a war that has killed tens of thousands in the Andean nation.
But it will further damage the drug trade-funded rebels' ability to coordinate high profile bombings, ambushes and kidnappings that have brought them worldwide notoriety.
"It is the most devastating blow this group has suffered in its history," Santos said.
"I want to send a message to each and every member of that organization: 'demobilize' ... or otherwise you will end up in a prison or in a tomb. We will achieve peace."
DECADES OF DEATH
Overnight, some Colombians spilled into the street, dancing and chanting with joy: "Cano is dead!"
While still supported in some hard left-wing circles due to the FARC's roots as a peasant insurgency, most Colombians saw Cano as a thug funded by the cocaine trade. As well as the deaths, high-profile kidnappings have wrenched the nation and tarnished its global reputation time-and-time again.
"This is brilliant news, it's just one more of those delinquents dead and a step closer to peace," said Horacio Londono, 53, buying cigarettes at a Bogota coffee stand.
Even prior to its decapitation, the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, had been battered by a U.S.-backed military campaign that began in 2002. The waning insurgency has lost several other key commanders in the past few years.
Cano's death came after intelligence from a former rebel.
Many FARC fighters, demoralized by the military offensive that has cut them off from supplies of food, weapons and clothing, have begun to turn themselves in, rat on the leadership and question the basis of the struggle.
Helped by U.S. funding, the government has hobbled the FARC's once sophisticated communication system. Until a few years ago, communication was possible across vast swathes of jungle and mountain ranges using radio technology that allowed the rebel commanders to easily plan attacks and buy weapons.
Spy planes and listening technology have now left the FARC reliant on phone messages and foot couriers.
The death of Cano, 63, who took over leadership of the rebels after the FARC's founder died of a heart attack in 2008, was a massive strategic victory for Santos, who came to office last year vowing to keep up a hard-line stance against them.
It will ease the pressure he has been under over a recent upsurge in small-scale attacks, and will also reassure investors in the booming oil and mining sectors.
DEBILITATED REBELS
It was not immediately clear who would take over from Cano, though analysts suggested FARC commanders Ivan Marquez or Timoleon Jimenez, both rumored to be sheltering in neighboring Venezuela, could be candidates.
"There's no leader with the intensity that Cano has and it will be hard to get someone to replace him," said Alfredo Rangel, an independent security analyst. "In the short term there will be a lack of leadership. The end won't be automatic or immediate, but we are coming to the end of the FARC."
Cano went from being a middle-class communist youth activist in Bogota to become the top FARC leader after taking part in peace talks in Venezuela and Mexico during the 1990s.
The strike that killed him underscored how Colombia's military can now attack rebel leaders deep in the country's mountains and jungles. Once a powerful force controlling large swaths of Colombia, the FARC is at its weakest in decades.
Foreign investment in Colombia has surged since the military crackdown began in 2002. But the FARC and other armed groups still pose a threat in rural areas where state presence is weak and cocaine trafficking finances their operations.
The security gains have, though, helped Colombia recoup investment-grade ratings from Wall Street agencies this year.
"The death of Alfonso Cano confirms that there has been a turning point in the war against the FARC," said Daniel Loza, an analyst at local brokerage Serfinco. "It is another factor that boosts investor confidence in Colombia."
Desertions and military operations have whittled down rebel ranks to about 7,000 fighters, but the FARC has survived for more than 40 years, and still has a cadre of experienced mid-level commanders. Rebels are relying increasingly on hit-and-run tactics and ambushes in rural areas.
Colombian media splashed photos of Cano across their front pages, with jubilant headlines. "Cano's dead!" read several front pages identically.
Though most Colombians profess hatred for the FARC, there is still some residual support, including universities where pro-rebel graffiti sometimes appears.
http://news.yahoo.com/colombian-rebel-commander-cano-killed-government-024424330.html;_ylt=Aj8TIwSMugZaSsDDqGaOIZsC9nQA;_ ylu=X3oDMTQ0aW5pb2VzBG1pdANBcnRpY2xlIFNlY3Rpb24gV2 9ybGQEcGtnA2EwMjgxYTQzLTI4NjItMzI2OS1iMDExLWQzMTlk OTFmNDViNgRwb3MDMgRzZWMDdG9wX3N0b3J5X2Nva2UEdmVyAz kzM2ZmYjEwLTA3YmUtMTFlMS1iZmZlLWI3NmJmNDQxNTU3ZA--;_ylg=X3oDMTJvYmZwOWQ1BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRw c3RhaWQDYmVjOGJmYWItNjdjMi0zYWZjLTgwYjQtNDE1NzQ4Mj E0ZDA1BHBzdGNhdAN3b3JsZARwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2U-;_ylv=3
Not that I think that FARC is the best thing since sliced bread but, the article's tone is a bit disconcerting. It almost entirely dismisses the peasantry and acts as if everyone is on the side of the Columbian government. I mean, yes it is bourgeois press, but its rather plain about its bias ala Michelle Maulkin.
In a triumph for President Juan Manuel Santos' security policy, forces bombed a FARC mountain hideout in southwestern Cauca region, killing several rebels, officials said.
Troops then rappelled down from helicopters to search the area, killing the widely-hated Marxist rebel boss in a gun battle during the operation on Friday.
Pictures of his dead body -- with his trademark beard shaven off -- were broadcast on television. Six laptop computers were found along with 39 memory sticks, cellular phones and cash in pesos, dollars and euros.
The death of the former student activist, who had a $3.7 million bounty on his head, is unlikely to spell a quick end to a war that has killed tens of thousands in the Andean nation.
But it will further damage the drug trade-funded rebels' ability to coordinate high profile bombings, ambushes and kidnappings that have brought them worldwide notoriety.
"It is the most devastating blow this group has suffered in its history," Santos said.
"I want to send a message to each and every member of that organization: 'demobilize' ... or otherwise you will end up in a prison or in a tomb. We will achieve peace."
DECADES OF DEATH
Overnight, some Colombians spilled into the street, dancing and chanting with joy: "Cano is dead!"
While still supported in some hard left-wing circles due to the FARC's roots as a peasant insurgency, most Colombians saw Cano as a thug funded by the cocaine trade. As well as the deaths, high-profile kidnappings have wrenched the nation and tarnished its global reputation time-and-time again.
"This is brilliant news, it's just one more of those delinquents dead and a step closer to peace," said Horacio Londono, 53, buying cigarettes at a Bogota coffee stand.
Even prior to its decapitation, the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, had been battered by a U.S.-backed military campaign that began in 2002. The waning insurgency has lost several other key commanders in the past few years.
Cano's death came after intelligence from a former rebel.
Many FARC fighters, demoralized by the military offensive that has cut them off from supplies of food, weapons and clothing, have begun to turn themselves in, rat on the leadership and question the basis of the struggle.
Helped by U.S. funding, the government has hobbled the FARC's once sophisticated communication system. Until a few years ago, communication was possible across vast swathes of jungle and mountain ranges using radio technology that allowed the rebel commanders to easily plan attacks and buy weapons.
Spy planes and listening technology have now left the FARC reliant on phone messages and foot couriers.
The death of Cano, 63, who took over leadership of the rebels after the FARC's founder died of a heart attack in 2008, was a massive strategic victory for Santos, who came to office last year vowing to keep up a hard-line stance against them.
It will ease the pressure he has been under over a recent upsurge in small-scale attacks, and will also reassure investors in the booming oil and mining sectors.
DEBILITATED REBELS
It was not immediately clear who would take over from Cano, though analysts suggested FARC commanders Ivan Marquez or Timoleon Jimenez, both rumored to be sheltering in neighboring Venezuela, could be candidates.
"There's no leader with the intensity that Cano has and it will be hard to get someone to replace him," said Alfredo Rangel, an independent security analyst. "In the short term there will be a lack of leadership. The end won't be automatic or immediate, but we are coming to the end of the FARC."
Cano went from being a middle-class communist youth activist in Bogota to become the top FARC leader after taking part in peace talks in Venezuela and Mexico during the 1990s.
The strike that killed him underscored how Colombia's military can now attack rebel leaders deep in the country's mountains and jungles. Once a powerful force controlling large swaths of Colombia, the FARC is at its weakest in decades.
Foreign investment in Colombia has surged since the military crackdown began in 2002. But the FARC and other armed groups still pose a threat in rural areas where state presence is weak and cocaine trafficking finances their operations.
The security gains have, though, helped Colombia recoup investment-grade ratings from Wall Street agencies this year.
"The death of Alfonso Cano confirms that there has been a turning point in the war against the FARC," said Daniel Loza, an analyst at local brokerage Serfinco. "It is another factor that boosts investor confidence in Colombia."
Desertions and military operations have whittled down rebel ranks to about 7,000 fighters, but the FARC has survived for more than 40 years, and still has a cadre of experienced mid-level commanders. Rebels are relying increasingly on hit-and-run tactics and ambushes in rural areas.
Colombian media splashed photos of Cano across their front pages, with jubilant headlines. "Cano's dead!" read several front pages identically.
Though most Colombians profess hatred for the FARC, there is still some residual support, including universities where pro-rebel graffiti sometimes appears.
http://news.yahoo.com/colombian-rebel-commander-cano-killed-government-024424330.html;_ylt=Aj8TIwSMugZaSsDDqGaOIZsC9nQA;_ ylu=X3oDMTQ0aW5pb2VzBG1pdANBcnRpY2xlIFNlY3Rpb24gV2 9ybGQEcGtnA2EwMjgxYTQzLTI4NjItMzI2OS1iMDExLWQzMTlk OTFmNDViNgRwb3MDMgRzZWMDdG9wX3N0b3J5X2Nva2UEdmVyAz kzM2ZmYjEwLTA3YmUtMTFlMS1iZmZlLWI3NmJmNDQxNTU3ZA--;_ylg=X3oDMTJvYmZwOWQ1BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRw c3RhaWQDYmVjOGJmYWItNjdjMi0zYWZjLTgwYjQtNDE1NzQ4Mj E0ZDA1BHBzdGNhdAN3b3JsZARwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2U-;_ylv=3
Not that I think that FARC is the best thing since sliced bread but, the article's tone is a bit disconcerting. It almost entirely dismisses the peasantry and acts as if everyone is on the side of the Columbian government. I mean, yes it is bourgeois press, but its rather plain about its bias ala Michelle Maulkin.