(Bogota) A main leader of the dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was killed during a military operation in the southwest of the country, President Ivan Duque announced on Monday.
Posted at 7:50 p.m.
Euclides España, known by the pseudonym of Jhonier, was “neutralized”, Duque said, referring to “one of the most important blows” dealt to these dissident factions of the former Marxist guerrillas who had stood in the deviation from the 2016 peace process.
The Colombian government had promised a $755,000 reward for locating Jhonier, who was also wanted by the United States.
“We are talking about a criminal with a murder and criminal background of more than 25 years,” said Mr. Duque.
Jhonier, whose age is unknown, was killed in an operation carried out by the army with the support of the police in the municipality of Tacueyo, in the department of Cauca, according to the authorities.
“We used state-of-the-art intelligence technology […] and our best troops so that they can advance mainly at night, and that is how today around three o’clock in the afternoon we managed to neutralize this symbol of evil,” said General Luis Fernando Navarro, the army chief, who accompanied President Duque during his statement.
About 2,500 fighters, without a unified command, rejected the peace agreement signed in November 2016 between the FARC and the government which led to the disarmament of around 7,000 rebels.
They continue to operate in the country, funding themselves through drug trafficking, illegal mining or extortion, according to Colombian intelligence services.