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Caribbean-Latin America
Diesel-powered submarine loaded with FOUR tons of cocaine worth $145 million intercepted off Colombia's coast and headed to Central America: Drug trafficker wanted by US for two years is nabbed aboard vessel
2022-02-11
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • A submarine with four tons of cocaine was intercepted by the Armes Forces of Colombia on Sunday

  • The shipment was the largest seized in two years and worth around $145 million

  • The drugs were split in 4,000 bundles and were head to Central America

  • The shipment belongs to a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia dissident group known as the Alfonso Cano Western Bloc

  • Four men were arrested, including Ecuadoran national Jorge P.B., wanted on drug trafficking charges by a U.S. federal court
Related:
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia: 2021-12-01 US officially pulls Colombian rebels FARC off foreign terror group list
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia: 2021-09-28 At least 10 FARC dissidents killed in Colombia bombing, military says
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia: 2021-07-06 Colombian army operation kills five rebels
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Caribbean-Latin America
FARC rebels get heavy jail time for killing tribe members
2014-11-10
[FRANCE24] An indigenous court convicted seven FARC guerrillas of murdering two leaders of the Nasa tribe in western Colombia on Sunday, sentencing them to between 40 and 60 years in jail and 20 lashes.

The harshest sentence -- 60 years prison time -- was handed down to Carlos Ivan Silva, who confessed to killing two native leaders on Wednesday.

The victims were removing billboards praising the late leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
FARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a drug cartel based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and donations. It has lately begun calling itself Bolivarian and is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
, Guillermo Leon Saenz, also known as Alfonso Cano, when they were murdered.

Four other defendants were sentenced to 40 years each for having "fired indiscriminately on other members of the community" alongside Silva, said the leader of the Northern Cauca indigenous councils association, Gabriel Pavi.

Two teenagers also placed in durance vile
Please don't kill me!
 were sentenced to 20 lashes and will be held at a rehabilitation center until age 18, at which point a new assembly will reconsider their cases.

The verdicts and sentences were determined after four hours of debate by an assembly of some 3,000 members from the indigenous reserve in the Cauca province.

When crimes are committed in aboriginal territory, the punishment for the accused is decided by the community and not the ordinary justice system.

Pavi had said Friday the guerrillas were captured "in uniform and with rifles" and that "all are indigenous."
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Caribbean-Latin America
New FARC Chief Says Willing to Negotiate with Colombia Leader
2012-01-11
[An Nahar] Colombia's Marxist FARC guerrillas said Monday they were willing to negotiate with President Juan Manuel Santos, in a statement signed by the group's new leader, named just two months ago.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
FARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a narco mob based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and donations. It has lately begun calling itself Bolivarian and is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
 said there are "issues we are interested in dealing with at a hypothetical negotiating table," in a statement from FARC chief Timoleon 'Timochenko' Jimenez posted on a rebel website.

"Before the nation, (we hope) to address privatizations, deregulation, the absolute freedom of trade and investment, environmental degradation, democracy in a market economy, and military policy," Jimenez said.

The FARC is Colombia's oldest and largest guerrilla force, believed to have 8,000 members, and has been at war with the government since its launch in 1964.

The group's last leader, Alfonso Cano, was killed in an army raid in early November.

The FARC has suffered serious losses since 2008, when its number two Raul Reyes died during a Colombian army raid in Ecuadoran territory, and its historic leader, Manuel "Sure Shot" Marulanda Velez, died after a brief illness.
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Caribbean-Latin America
After 12 years, Colombian soldier gets home
2011-11-28
[Emirates 24/7] Colombian army Sergeant Luis Alberto Erazo returned to Bogota Sunday from 12 years of captivity by FARC rebels, a day after managing to escape during a battle as four other hostages were executed.

Erazo, 40, who had been held by the Marxist rebels since December 9, 1999, arrived in the capital by helicopter and was taken in an ambulance to a hospital for treatment, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The soldier, who suffered shrapnel wounds to the face as rebels in hot pursuit tossed a grenade at him, made no comment to the media. He was reunited with his girlfriend, his 16-year-old daughter and other family members.

Erazo beat feet from a rebel encampment in southern Colombia on Saturday where army forces were hunting for possible hostages. During the clash, FARC rebels executed four hostages but Erazo was later found alive.

President Juan Manual Santos visited Erazo on Sunday, saying it was "really moving to see this national hero" but also hailing the "heroism" of the four hostages killed "in cold blood."

Santos also said he had "mixed feelings, seeing the happiness of this sergeant and his family, while at the same time understanding the pain of the other four families."

The hostages had been held at a FARC encampment in the remote Solano region of southern Colombia.

Those who died were identified as Colonel Edgar Yesid Duarte, Lieutenants Elkin Hernandez and Alvaro Moreno, and Sergeant Jose Libio Martinez, the FARC's longest-held hostage who was kidnapped nearly 14 years ago in a rebel ambush.

After the latest executions, 14 police and soldiers remain in FARC hands. Some have spent more than a decade in captivity.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
FARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a narco mob based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and donations. It has lately begun calling itself Bolivarian and is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
 (FARC), believed to have 8,000 members, has been at war with the government since 1964. It began a campaign of kidnappings in the mid-1980s, seizing army hostages to serve as bargaining chips for FARC prisoners.

By the late 1990s, civilians and politicians were also being snatched, winning the group greater notoriety.

New FARC chief Timoleon Jimenez has taken a hard line since taking over from Alfonso Cano, bumped off in a November 4 firefight with Colombian government forces.

Several citizen groups meanwhile called for a march December 6 to protest the violence and call for the release of all FARC hostages.

Separately, a representative for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia denounced the killings of the hostages and said that the FARC could face charges of crimes against humanity for such offenses.

"These liquidations reflect a terrible lack of humanity and complete disregard for human life," the agency's representative Christian Salazar said.

"These irrational acts are not isolated or sporadic. They are war crimes which could be classified as crimes against humanity."
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Caribbean-Latin America
Colombia's FARC Rebels Execute Four Hostages
2011-11-27
[An Nahar] Colombia's FARC rebels have executed four hostages, just days after installing a new leader at the helm of Latin America's longest-running Death Eater group, the defense minister said Saturday.

"Four hostages, members of the security forces, have been killed," Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon told a presser, adding that their bullet-ridden bodies had been found on Saturday morning in the Solano region.

In his first message since taking over as leader of Colombia's main leftist guerrilla outfit, new FARC chief Timoleon Jimenez warned President Juan Manuel Santos on Sunday: "We all have to die."

Alfonso Cano, who had led the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
FARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a narco mob based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and donations. It has lately begun calling itself Bolivarian and is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
 (FARC) since 2008, was bumped off in a November 4 firefight with Colombian government forces.

Santos said Thursday in Bogota that Jimenez, alias Timochenko, would share Cano's fate unless he gave his actions serious thought.

The FARC, believed to have 8,000 members, has been at war with the government since 1964. It began a campaign of kidnappings in the mid-1980s, seizing army hostages to serve as bargaining chips forFARC prisoners. By the late 1990s, civilians and politicians were also being snatched, winning the group greater notoriety.

Saturday's executions leave 14 police and soldiers still in FARC hands. Some of them have spent more than a decade in captivity.

The operation to kill Cano was the latest in a string of recent military victories in the government's quest to eradicate FARC, after years of unsuccessful attempts to find a negotiated solution.

The FARC lost its number two Raul Reyes during a Colombian army raid in Ecuadoran territory in 2008.

That same year, the FARC also lost Manuel "Sure Shot" Marulanda Velez, the reclusive 80-year-old rebel chief, who was last seen in 1982. He died after a brief undisclosed illness.

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Caribbean-Latin America
Colombia Farc rebel radio station 'shut down' by army
2011-11-21
(BBC) - Colombia's army says it has shut down the main radio station operated by the Farc rebels, after 15 years on air. Troops captured transmitters and other broadcast equipment when they overran a guerrilla camp in the Meta region.

The rebel radio station Voice of Resistance broadcast the Farc's revolutionary message across large areas of eastern and central Colombia. The army also disrupted its broadcasts last year, but the left-wing rebels got the station back on air.

Troops found the clandestine broadcasting operation in a rebel base protected by some 60 improvised bombs, the army said. The captured equipment included microphones, computers, amplifiers, a mixing console and a generator.

'Indoctrination'
"This is a powerful blow to the Farc terrorist group, as this broadcaster was an important tool for the hard boys' daily work," the army said in a statement. "For more than a decade it has been fundamental for the political indoctrination of Farc members as well as for broadcasting strong criticism of the institutions of state," it added.

The capture of the radio operation comes two weeks after the Farc leader Alfonso Cano was killed by the security forces. He has been replaced by Rodrigo Londono - better known by his alias Timochenko.

The Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)
FARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a narco mob based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and donations. It has lately begun calling itself Bolivarian and is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
are the country's oldest and biggest rebel group.

The have been fighting to impose a Marxist revolution since the 1960s.
Once upon a time that was the cutting edge political app, back in the days when punch cards were a radical improvement on paper tape.
Over the past decade they have suffered a series of setbacks, losing thousands of fighters and several of their top commanders. But they remain a powerful force in large areas of rural Colombia, thanks in part to money gained from cocaine production and trafficking.
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Caribbean-Latin America
Colombia's FARC rebels pick hardline new leader
2011-11-16
(Rooters) - Colombia's FARC guerrillas named Timoleon Jimenez, a hard-liner known as Timochenko, as their new leader after the Andean country's armed forces killed his predecessor, a rebel statement said on Tuesday

In one of the largest strikes against the guerrillas, Colombian forces killed FARC leader Alfonso Cano on November 4. But the forces of Evil vowed to fight on, dampening hopes that his death might bring the nation closer to peace.

Timochenko, who received military and political training in Cuba and Russia, is considered more uncompromising than other rival commanders of the FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
FARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a narco mob based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and donations. It has lately begun calling itself Bolivarian and is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
, according to Colombian intelligence services.

"We want to inform you that Comrade Timoleon Jimenez, with a unanimous vote by his lover companions in the secretariat, was designated on November 5 as the new commander of the FARC," said the statement, published on a news website called the Bolivarian Press Agency that often carries rebel messages.

Timochenko, 52, has been a member of the seven-member ruling secretariat since the early 1990s and a fighter in the FARC since the 1970s. He is believed to operate in the Norte de Santander province on the border with Venezuela.

The FARC's leadership choice could heat up the conflict on the northeastern provinces, where Timochenko and another secretariat member are believed to operate, if thousands of troops that were looking for Cano were moved to those areas.
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Caribbean-Latin America
FARC leader Alfonso Cano killed
2011-11-05
Defence ministry sources told media that Alfonso Cano had been killed in an army operation in the mountains in the south-west of the country.

Details of the military operation in Cauca state are still sketchy, with some reports suggesting that Mr Cano was killed in a bombing raid.

State Governor Gonzalez Mosquera later told local radio that the military had "achieved one of its most important goals".

"The fingerprints matched," one senior security official was later quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

Mr Cano, a 62-year-old academic from Bogota, became the Farc's leader in 2008 after his predecessor, Manuel Marulanda died of a heart attack.

Mr Cano's real name is Guillermo Leon Saenz.
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Caribbean-Latin America
Top FARC leader narrowly escaped raid
2011-07-04
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says the top leader of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia narrowly escaped an attack on his camp by the country’s armed forces.

Santos says Alfonso Cano fled the camp “in the space of 12 hours, no more” before the raid, leaving behind his clothes, half his belongings and two dogs that normally accompany him.

Santos told a news conference Sunday that it is the third time they have almost captured Cano. He said the raid took place Thursday in a rural region between the provinces of Huila and Cauca. It came after officials received a tip from within the rebel group.
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Caribbean-Latin America
Colombian army kills FARC security chief
2011-06-05
THE Colombian army has killed the security chief of the Marxist FARC's top commander, in what officials claim is a blow against the guerrillas.

Alirio Rojas Bocanegra, known as "The Grandfather," headed the FARC's Central Block tasked with guarding Alfonso Cano, who took over as leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia after its founder Manuel Marulanda Velez was killed in 2008.

President Juan Manuel Santos praised the military operation that took place in western Colombia, and used tough talk in pledging to make further inroads against the rebel movement he has described as "narco-terrorists."

"We are dealing with FARC central command in a systematic way: They put up a leader, and we take him down," Santos said during a public appearance in Sincelejo, in northern Colombia.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivero, told reporters that the army is "increasingly close to Alfonso Cano, and we are shutting down all fronts of action and mobilisation."

Bocanegra died Friday high up in the mountains at Rioblanco, in an operation that also killed Manuel Cepeda Vargas, also known as "Ruben," the commission chief responsible for FARC propaganda and its radio station, Voices of the Resistance.

The FARC, with an estimated 8000 fighters, is Latin America's largest and longest-fighting insurgency with 47 years of armed struggle.
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Caribbean-Latin America
Colombian military kills 10 FARC rebels
2011-03-26
[Iran Press TV] Colombian security forces have killed 10 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
FARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a narco mob based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and donations. It has lately begun calling itself Bolivarian and is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
 (FARC) in a military raid in the western province of Choco.

The armed forces also tossed in the clink four FARC guerillas in the early Thursday raid, according to the The Colombian Report.

They were able to locate a FARC base used by the guerrillas accused of extorting money from local businesses following two months of tracking in the pacific coast area.

The raid comes on the heels of an announcement on Monday that FARC commander "Jeronimo Galeano" was killed in the province of Huila.

Galeano was reportedly the head of 16 security rings charged with protecting the FARC supreme leader, "Alfonso Cano."

In February, FARC released six political hostages as part of a unilateral pledge to release high-profile captives.

FARC, Latin America's oldest krazed killer group, has been battling the Colombian government since 1964.

The leader and founder of the group, Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, died of natural causes in 2008, dealing a huge blow to the rebels' morale.

The rebel organization is believed to have an estimated 8,000 fighters operating across a large swathe of the eastern jungles of the Andean nation.
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Caribbean-Latin America
Colombian army storms FARC leader's hideout
2010-02-05
Following a Colombian armed forces bombardment on Tuesday morning, soldiers began an offensive in the south of the Tolima department against the FARC's 21st Front, which is thought to be led by the guerrillas' supreme commander, "Alfonso Cano."

According to the army, heavy fighting was still continuing at the end of the afternoon. The assault's aim was to weaken or break the security ring around the FARC's central command and its leader "Cano." The offensive follows the discovery of a number of camps where the army thinks top guerrilla leaders may be hiding.

The area where the fighting is taking place is remote, at an altitude of 13,000 feet, and far from civilization.

The authorities have long suspected that "Cano" and other prominent members of the FARC are using the deserted south Tolima mountains as their center of operations. The army claims to have killed three members of the personal security ring of "Alfonso Cano."
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