Colombia Farc chief 'may be dead' ( Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda may have died on 26 March )

BBC ^ | Saturday, 24 May 2008 20:27 UK 19:27 GMT, | BBC Staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Colombia Farc chief 'may be dead'

Marulanda has led the Farc since it was formed 44 years ago

The Colombian government is investigating a report that the leader of the Farc rebel group is dead, the defence minister has said.

Juan Manuel Santos told Semana magazine that Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda may have died on 26 March, citing "a source who has never failed us".

The top rebel commander's death has been rumoured and later disproved several times in the past.

Correspondents say if confirmed the death would be a big blow to the Farc.

Marulanda, whose real name is Pedro Antonio Marin, has led the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, since its foundation in 1964.

Marulanda is thought to be 78 years old and there have been persistent rumours of ill health, including evidence that suggested he had prostate cancer.

Mr Manual Santos said reports from guerrillas suggested Marulanda died of a heart attack, although he also told the magazine that three bombing raids had targeted the rebel chief on the date in question.

The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Bogota says the 44-year-old rebel movement is currently suffering its worst period yet, with two top commanders dead and others surrendered.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Not sure who is is following this .

[RandallFlagg]

To die on Leonard Nimoy’s birthday is....illogical.

[ThePythonicCow]

Google news shows several other sites reporting the same thing:

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Colombia's top FARC commander dead
Reuters - 1 hour ago
BOGOTA (Reuters) - The top commander of Colombia's FARC rebel group, Manuel Marulanda, known as "Sureshot," is dead, a government source said on Saturday. ...

Colombia's FARC Commander Marulanda May Be Dead, Reuters Says
Bloomberg - 1 hour ago
By Nancy Kercheval May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Manuel Marulanda, the top commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebel group, may be dead, ...

Colombian media claims FARC chief is dead, citing minister
AFP - 1 hour ago
BOGOTA (AFP) — The fugitive chief of Colombia's rebel movement FARC, Manuel Marulanda Velez, has died, the weekly Semana magazine reported Saturday citing ...

Report: Colombia's FARC rebel commander may have died
Earthtimes (press release), UK - 1 hour ago
Bogota - The commander of Colombia's FARC rebel group, Pedro Antonio Marín alias Manuel Marulanda, may have died, according to unconfirmed reports Saturday. ...

Colombia's defense minister says top rebel leader may be dead
WBOC TV 16, MD - 3 hours ago
AP - May 24, 2008 1:13 PM ET BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombia's defense minister says the legendary leader of Colombia's guerrilla army may be dead. ...

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[ThePythonicCow]

Here's a five year old description of FARC, from http://www.cocaine.org/colombia/farc.html (they sound like nice folks ;):

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Colombia's Civil War
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

The FARC, with some 17,500 members, is active throughout Colombia and headquartered in the south of the country, where it largely governed a region about the size of Switzerland for over 40 years. Its primary mission is to overthrow the state and establish a communist-agrarian state.

The FARC is governed by a seven-member secretariat, chaired by its 71-year old original founder, Manuel Marulanda. Some 30 percent of the FARC is female and most are younger than 19.

The FARC finances its operations through kidnapping and ransom, extortion, and narcotics trafficking. It also targets anyone suspected of conspiring with the military and paramilitaries.

According to military analysts, the FARC earns between $250 and $300 million through criminal acts, of which 65 percent comes from the drug trade.

The FARC's conventional "guerrilla" weapons include explosives, landmines and bombs camouflaged as necklaces, soccer balls, and soup cans.

They have also orchestrated prison revolts, attacked against police and military personnel and regularly set up roadblocks to "protect" villages from military or paramilitary infiltration. According to reports, the FARC forcibly enlists any persons between the ages of 13 and 60 to work coca or poppy plantations, and serve in the military. The FARC have also targeted religious leaders and banned any spiritual expression.

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[lexington minuteman 1775]

Oh boy, I get to be first...
“He’s dead Jim.”!

[Recon Dad]

I follow everything going on in Colombia. I have relatives in Bogota.

I hope the collapse of FARC comes before Bush leaves office.

[NormsRevenge]

That takes #s 1 and 2 out of the game. Good.

a sudden bout of self-induced myocardial inFARCtion?

He was no Fidel. and neither is ‘Next!’ .. I mean Hugo. ;-)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for those links....stumbled into this AFP story,,..posted on FR:

Woman strips after wolf whistle

[NormsRevenge]

No thread yet but heard a news report that there was an earthquake today in Colombia.

3.Central Colombia hit by 5.7 magnitude earthquake
Reuters via Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080524/wl_nm/colombia_earthquake_dc_2
A shallow, 5.7-magnitude earthquake hit central Colombia on Saturday, shaking buildings in the capital, Bogota, and sending panicked residents into the streets, witnesses and the U.S. Geological Survey said.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See #9...no pictures...but there is a link to a nice Youtube video.,

[bert]

Pelosi and Hugo are saddened

[NormsRevenge]

urrrr,, Thanks!

That took some nerve. :-)

[NormsRevenge]

meanwhile..

Central Colombia hit by 5.6 magnitude earthquake
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2020829/posts

[Recon Dad]

On weekends they go to Zipaquirá, about an hour outside Bogota. Nothing too tall out there.

[Redbob]

He’s probably hiding out as a busboy at Nancy Pelosi’s husband’s restaurant...

[struggle]

Looks like he got FARCed up.

[OKIEDOC]

Great news if true.

But might be wishful thinking by a Hillary supporter wanting an RFK.

[OKIEDOC]

I hope the collapse of FARC comes before Bush leaves office.

I also have relatives living in Cartagena, Bogota, Turbaco, Barranquilla and lots of other towns and cities.

My best friend from New York city owns a 27,000 acre ranch up on the Magdalena River.

I am afraid that Nancy Pelosie and Democrats will cut help to Colombia trying to please Hugo Chavez.

Obama in office is not good for Colombia.

[billorites]

This could be an attempt to smoke him out.

I so want to visit Colombia. Everytime I go south of the border I have the best time.

Fundamentally, I'm a hot blooded Latin trapped in a New Hampshire Freeper's body.