The main Colombian media reported this Sunday the death of Hernán Darío Velásquez, alias “el Paisa”, one of the leaders of the FARC dissidence known as “Segunda Marquetalia”.
El Tiempo cites “very high official sources” from Colombia, while the newspaper El Colombiano does the same with “military sources” and Semana magazine speaks of “Venezuelan sources.”
The three media agree on that the guerrilla had fallen in the Venezuelan state of Apure , near the border with Colombia
The news was also released by the Caracol and RCN stations. The newspaper El Nacional de Venezuela also brings it but attributes it to El Tiempo.
The circumstances of what happened are not yet clear, although at least two media indicate that it was a attack .
The governments of Colombia and Venezuela have not immediately confirmed the fact.
“El Paisa”
“El Paisa” became known for being the commander of the mobile column Teófilo Forero , one of the most feared units of the FARC.
As leader of the Teófilo, he is pointed out of several of the most bloody guerrilla attacks , which include the murder of families with a political tradition, mass kidnappings, the kidnapping and murder of officials and planning attacks against a former minister and former president Álvaro Uribe.
Among the criminal actions attributed to him are the kidnapping of 12 deputies of the department of Valle del Cauca on 2002. On that occasion, a group of guerrillas broke into a session of the Assembly in Cali and kidnapped the deputies.
Eleven of the 12 kidnapped were killed in 2007.
The other action was the attack in El Nogal, an exclusive club in the north of Bogotá where politicians, businessmen and personalities of the Colombian elite meet.
The night of February 7, 2003 a car bomb parked in the club detonated a strong explosive charge that left 12 dead and 198 wounded.
“El Paisa” He grew up in Medellín and his nickname was due ea that in Colombia those who come from the region that that city is in are called that.
It always had a reputation for being implacable, that is why, when in 2016 joined the peace process in Havana, some saw him as a a sign that the guerrillas were really committed to lay down their arms.
In July of 2018, “El Paisa” along with Iván Márquez left the place where several reinserted guerrillas had relocated after the agreement was signed.
He was not heard from until a year later , when he appeared in a video announcing the creation of the “Second Marquetalia” together with Iván Márquez and Jesús Santrich, the latter also deceased.
“El Paisa” was on the list of the most wanted by the Colombian police, the DEA in the United States and Interpol, in addition to having several court cases open for crimes such as homicides, tr drug trafficking, forced displacement and attacks.
If confirmed The guerrilla’s death would be the second notable loss registered by the FARC dissidence this year.
Last May, Jesús Santrich, a former guerrilla commander, was ambushed by the Colombian Army and who came to take office as an official member of the House of Representatives of the Colombian Congress after the signing of the peace agreement in Colombia. 2016.
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