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Caribbean-Latin America
Top rebel leader killed in Colombia
2010-09-24
[Al Jazeera] A top leader of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) has been killed in an air raid, the Colombian military says.
Well done, Columbian air raiders!
Jorge Briceno Suarez, also known as Mono Jojoy,
Perhaps that sounds more impressive in the original Columbian Spanish.
Were they taking lessons from the MILF?
headed Farc's military operations in the Macarena region in eastern Colombia.

His death would the biggest setback to the Farc since mid-2008, when its foreign minister was killed and soldiers rescued 15 hostages including Ingrid Betancourt, the former Colombian presidential candidate.
And he won't be missed by his mother ...
The US state department, which had been offering a reward of up to $5m for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Suarez, described him as a key figure in the rebel group's drug-trafficking operations, including the production and distribution of hundreds of tonnes of cocaine around the world.

Started as a peasant army in the 1960s, the Farc grew into a powerful force that once controlled large parts of Colombia and was blamed for hundreds of kidnappings and killings.

But since Alvaro Uribe, the Colombian ex-president, launched an army offensive against the rebels in 2002, the Farc's writ over the country has considerably shrunk.

With Farc-sponsored violence declining, Colombia, once described as a failing state, has also witnessed a five-fold increase in foreign investment.

Juan Manuel Santos, the current president, has promised to keep up Uribe's tough line, dismissing any possibility of talks with the Farc unless the rebels cease hostilities and release hostages they are still holding.
Posted by:Fred

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