Kidnapped Colombian Governor Found Dead

Posted on Dec 23, 2009

AP

Luis Francisco Cuellar, shown in Dec. 19 photo at a talk in Florencia, Colombia.

Colombian officials were blaming the rebel organization FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, for the death of Luis Francisco Cuellar, governor of the country’s southern province of Caquetá, on Wednesday. Cuellar had been kidnapped Monday night and was found less than a day later with his throat slit, but the FARC had not claimed responsibility for his murder by Wednesday afternoon.  —KA

The Guardian:

Farc rebels in Colombia have killed a provincial governor hours after kidnapping him in a bold commando raid, marking a return of political kidnaps.

Clad in his pyjamas, Luis Francisco Cuellar was taken from his home in Florencia, capital of Caquetá province, on Monday night after at least eight suspected members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) blasted the door down with explosives, according to local officials.

His body was found hours later in a rural area. President Alvaro Uribe said last night that Cuellar’s throat had been slit.

The acting Caquetá governor, Patricia Vega, told local radio that the government had confirmed Cuellar’s body was found near a vehicle abandoned by the commando squad. “Unfortunately we have to accept this painful reality,” Vega said. The Farc has yet to issue a statement.

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