In one of the largest strikes against the guerrillas, Colombian forces killed FARC leader Alfonso Cano on November 4. But the forces of Evil vowed to fight on, dampening hopes that his death might bring the nation closer to peace.
Timochenko, who received military and political training in Cuba and Russia, is considered more uncompromising than other rival commanders of the FARC, or the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaFARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a narco mob based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and
donations. It has lately begun calling itself
Bolivarianand is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
, according to Colombian intelligence services.
"We want to inform you that Comrade Timoleon Jimenez, with a unanimous vote by his
Timochenko, 52, has been a member of the seven-member ruling secretariat since the early 1990s and a fighter in the FARC since the 1970s. He is believed to operate in the Norte de Santander province on the border with Venezuela.
The FARC's leadership choice could heat up the conflict on the northeastern provinces, where Timochenko and another secretariat member are believed to operate, if thousands of troops that were looking for Cano were moved to those areas.