Sun Setting on FARC Rebellion

Colombia's new reality will put dogmatic FARC head Cano to test

(NEWSER) - Though Alfonso Cano, the new commander of Colombia’s FARC rebels, is a bookish intellectual, don’t expect a new push towards government negotiations, sources tell the Washington Post. Cano, who turned to Marx in college after a middle-class upbringing, would be uniquely suited to push peaceful political action—but in its weakened state, the FARC needs its leader to show strength. More»

'Sure Shot' founded Marxist FARC more than 40 years ago

(NEWSER) - Columbian rebel leader Manuel Marulanda Velez is dead, according to an interview with an official in a weekly magazine, AFP reports. The elusive FARC leader, known as “Sure Shot,” helped start the Marxist rebel group in the 1960s to battle Colombia's conservative government. He was rumored to have terminal cancer earlier this year. More»

President hails death of Alfonso Cano as huge blow against rebels

(NEWSER) - The head of Colombia's FARC rebels was killed in a military bombing yesterday, the latest blow to Latin America's last major rebel group, reports the AP . "The fingerprints matched," said a senior official, calling the raid a "standard military operation." President Juan Manuel Santos called the death of Alfonso Cano "the most devastating blow that this group has suffered in its history," notes the BBC . (He used nearly identical language when FARC No. 2 Mono Jojoy was killed last year , also in a bombing raid.) More»

Kidnap victim Cuellar found with throat cut

(NEWSER) - A Colombian provincial governor snatched from his home Monday has been found dumped dead on a country road. Police believe leftist guerrillas cut Luis Francisco Cuellar's throat as they fled from security forces. Rebels dressed in military uniforms killed one policeman and wounded two others when they seized Cuellar from his home in Florencia, the BBC reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Despite frequent denials by President Hugo Chavez, it seems Venezuela is still arming Colombian rebels on the sly, the New York Times reports. Computer files captured from FARC rebels reveal Venezuela's efforts to get them missiles, sniper rifles, radios, and Venezuelan identity cards. This after Chavez froze relations with Colombia last year, fuming over accusations that Venezuela was arming rebels with rocket launchers. More»