By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
BOGOTA, Colombia—Colombia has reported that security forces have killed a legendary FARC military commander and strategist, Jorge Briceño. The evasive commander was so highly in demand that at one point the U.S. State Department had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Colombian forces raided a key rebel compound in the south of the country Wednesday, killing over 20 members of the leftist group. According to authorities, 30 planes and 27 helicopters were used to subdue rebels at their stronghold in the jungle south of Bogota. The raid was code-named “Sodom” in a reference to striking at the heart of the FARC, but the new Colombian administration dubs it the “Welcome” they promised the guerrilla group.
Fifty-seven-year-old Briceño, often called “El Mono Jojoy,” was the chief of military operations for FARC. He had been hiding in a concrete bunker at the rebel base when he was killed. President Juan Manuel Santos, who is visiting New York for the United Nations General Assembly debate, declared Briceño’s death as a significant victory and blamed him for much of the violence that has plagued Colombia.
“He symbolized terror,” Santos said. “This is the most important blow ever against the FARC.” The president told the Associated Press that Briceño’s death will be meaningful to Colombians: “It is as if they told New Yorkers that Osama bin Laden had fallen.”
During the 1990s, Briceño allegedly orchestrated multiple attacks against military outposts. Just some of the charges against him during that period include murder, terrorism, and drug trafficking.
Aldo Civico, an expert on FARC at Rutgers University, said, “[Briceño] was really the military mastermind of the FARC, so for the past 25 years he has been extremely important in the military gains of the FARC.”
Newly-elected President Santos is no stranger to combating FARC. Before becoming president, he served as defense minister and led numerous strikes against the group. Many of these strikes attracted attention after high-profile hostages were freed and Paul Reyes, the notorious leader of FARC, was killed.
It is hoped that Briceño’s death will rock the FARC to its core and push members to collaborate with Colombian authorities. Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera said that the successful “Welcome” operation was made possible by “the collaboration of members of the FARC itself,” and that “the FARC is rotting inside.”
Earlier this week, Colombian officials attacked a different FARC base, killing a senior commander and 27 other rebels.
For more information, please see:
New York Times-Colombia Says Rebel Commander Killed in Raid-23 September 2010
Washington Post-Colombian rebel leader reportedly killed in military strike-23 September 2010
Voice of America-Colombian Security Forces Kill Rebel Military Chief in Raid-23 September 2010
