Show Rebel commander killed in Columbia Juan Forero The Washington Post Colombia's U.S.-backed U.S. security forces struck a major blow against the country's main guerrilla group Saturday for the first time tracking down and killing a member of the organizations organization's ruling echelon the Defense Ministry said Luis Edgar Devia better known by his nom de deguerre deguerre deguerre guerre Raul Reyes died just across Colombia's southern border with Ecuador after a firefight with elite Colombian troops and an air force Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said in inan inan inan an interview Devia 59 was among seven commanders of the so-called so Secretariat of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and was its most visible leader after the organizations organization's commander Manuel Sure Shot Marulanda who has been fighting the state for forr nearly 60 years The strike signals a strategic crisis for the 44 year-old year guerrilla group known as the which has been significantly weakened in recent years This is the biggest blow the has suffered in its history Santos said by phone from Bogota the capital Hes not as legendary as Sure Shot but hes he's one of the most important chiefs the had Devia's death is among a series of strikes the armed forces have inflicted in recent months against the an an org organization that was so well-funded well large and visible that it was considered largely invincible in the early part of the decade From its roots as a tiny peasant- peasant based group in the the had by the morphed into a powerful fighting force operating nationwide and deeply involved in cocaine trafficking The group remains formidable lable and is far from being defeated but has fewer than members today down from nearly in 2002 said Sergio Jaramillo vice minister of defense More than 1800 guerrillas were killed in 2007 including seasoned mid-level mid commanders About 2500 deserted including who had spent more than 10 years in inthe inthe inthe the More important even than the numbers is the quality of the people who are leaving the Jaramillo said We now have fully hilly fledged cadres who have a lot of experience and who have decided that they dont don't want to spend their lives in the They dont don't think its it's going anywhere The United States and European Union classify the as a terrorist organization Devia and other commanders had been vigorously looking for political recognition by negotiating the release of hostages held by the group with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez whose leftist ideology has made him palatable to the Six Colombians have been freed in in the past two months But their stories of mistreatment have horrified Colombians and millions mar marched hed against the group last month Alfredo Rangel a mili tary analyst at the Security and Democracy Foundation in Bogota said Devia's death and the other recent setbacks could lead to a power struggle in which more pragmatic leaders emerge Though barely 5 feet 2 inches tall with glasses and a neatly trimmed beard Devia was known as asan asan asan an extremist determined to topple the state A former trade union unon leader who worked at a Nestle milk plant he favored military action over negotiation according to analysts who study the conflict and was an energetic advocate of the policy of using civilian hostages as pawns In talks with government emissaries and journalists he always carried his assault rifle His death comes after a alot alot alot lot of defeats at the hands of the army the capture of leaders the killings of leaders the loss of territory the reduction in finances the reduction in the military capacity Rangel said So this could be very significant in the perception the guerrillas may have about the possibility of military success in the future This shows that its military project has no possibility of triumphing in Colombia For the government o of fd f President Alvaro Uribe an and d by extension its benefactor the United States Devia's death was seen as validation of a strategy that centers on improving the military's capacity by beefing up the army anny and improving a once-ineffective once intelligence system The I Uribe administration has received more than 42 billion mostly in military ry aid from the United States On Saturday morning Uribe was late for a breakfast meeting with US U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and seven members of Congress who had traveled to Colombia to discuss trade issues After arriving at the meeting in a hotel in the city of Uribe explained the importance of the strike to the American lawmakers He put in context the nature of Reyes and how significant he was Rep Peter Roskam R said by phone from Colombia He told us that some of the generals hed he'd been in touch with earlier in the day had gotten emotional and up Santos the defense minister said the operation against Devia was launched after the security forces learned that he and other rebels were in ina a camp in Putumayo an isolated jungle state that hugs Colombia's southern border with Ecuador Military helicopters arrived at the camp at 1225 am a.m. Saturday and took gunfire from the other side of the river |