Colombian Army Reports FARC Leader Dead

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Posted on May 24, 2008

AP photo

Gone?: FARC leader Marulanda (center) in 2000.

The demise of Manuel “Sureshot” Marulanda has been rumored many times before, but this time the Colombian army has announced that the long-time leader of the rebel group FARC is dead and has challenged FARC to disprove the report. Sources close to Marulanda have yet to confirm the news.

AFP:

The elusive Marulanda, who was about 80 when he died, founded the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) over four decades ago. He was last seen in public in 1982 and has been rumored to be dead at least 17 times.

Over 40 years, he turned a group of 48 armed farmers in southern Colombia into a thousands-strong organization which has fought the government and right-wing paramilitaries in a civil war that has claimed more than 200,000 lives.

The weekly Semana magazine had earlier reported Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos as saying that Marulanda, alias “Tiro Fijo,” meaning “Sureshot,” had died.

In January, a Brazilian newspaper reported a rumor that Marulanda had terminal cancer.

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TAGS: bogota colombia farc guerrilla insurgency leader manuel marulanda marxist military rebel sureshot

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By antispin, May 25, 2008 at 4:19 pm Link to this comment

All that crap on NPR about FARC and it’s dirty bomb lap tops…this is the legacy of Clinton.  National Propaganda Radio and the feeble attempt to keep the Jackals alive and killing.

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By Carlos, May 24, 2008 at 7:13 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

There is a major difference this time around. The Minister of defense isn’t alone on those claims.

‘Sources close to Marulanda’, I guess you mean Anncol…well, they have a history of not telling the EXACT truth, specially if its something negative about the guerrillas.(I guess you don’t know about the Emmanuel or the the 11 deputees fiasco-they are definitely not a reliable source).

In fact, the FARC is known for denying the death of their leaders, even for months: it happened with Negro Acacio, Jacobo Arenas(the other senior leader of FARC), and others.

The colombian military has actually CHALLENGED the FARC to prove their allegations wrong. That means this time, they aren’t joking around.

With their extensive intelligence network, it means this story has a good chance of being true.

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