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Colombia to Pay Ex-Rebel $2.5M for Slaying

Posted Mar 15, 08 11:51 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Colombia will pay the former FARC rebel who killed his commander last week part of a $2.5 million reward—a move critics say amounts to payment for murder, the BBC reports. Guerrilla Pedro Pablo Montoya shot his boss, then cut off his hand as proof. He will share the money with three others who provided intelligence information.

“We pay for information and other types of collaboration,” said Colombia’s defense minister. Montoya also surrendered his commander's computer, which contained "very valuable information,” the government said. Colombia hopes the reward leads to FARC infighting, and even Montoya has said it will encourage other rebels to follow his example. “The FARC is in trouble,” one Latin American specialist told Bloomberg.

Sources BBC, Bloomberg

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Colombian President Alvaro Uribe ordered a reward paid to a former rebel who killed his commander.   (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe ordered a reward paid to a former rebel who killed his commander.   (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Pedro Montoya killed his boss, Ivan Rios, a top leader of the FARC rebel group, and surrendered to Colombian troops with his boss's severed right hand, laptop computer and ID as proof.   (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
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murder • Colombia • FARC • Alvaro Uribe • Colombian rebels • Raul Reyes • Juan Pablo Montoya



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