"Sureshot" Marulanda Dead?

[HonkyTonk]

Colombia says top guerrilla dead after 4 decades in charge

By TOBY MUSE,
Associated Press
Posted: 2008-05-24 20:42:44
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - The Colombian Defense Ministry said Saturday that it has information from various intelligence sources that the legendary leader of Latin America's largest guerrilla army is dead.

In a statement, the ministry said "we have learned through different military intelligence means" that the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, died on March 26.

"We know that inside the FARC, the version is that he died of natural causes, specifically from a heart attack," the ministry said.

Marulanda is believed to be about 80.

First word of Marulanda's possible death came earlier Saturday when the newsmagazine Semana quoted Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos as saying he had information that Marulanda died in the guerrillas' southern Colombian stronghold at the time of three bombing raids.

"Whether the death of Marulanda came in a bombardment or from natural causes, this would be the most serious blow this terrorist group has suffered," the Defense Ministry statement said.

In the Semana interview, Santos said that the government had been told of the rebel leader's death from a "source who has never failed us."

Marulanda, whose real name is Pedro Antonio Marin, has led the peasant-based FARC since its founding in 1964.

Colombia's government has announced his death various times over the past 15 years, but each time proof that he was alive cropped up months later.

"If (the FARC) are going to say that the information we have is not true, they should show him," said the statement, which was read by the military's chief of staff, Adm. David Moreno. It said Marulanda has been replaced as FARC leader by a rebel ideologue known as Alfonso Cano.

The army has for months said it has Cano cornered in the southwest Colombian jungle and that his death or capture is imminent. FARC statements have denied Cano is in the area.

The FARC has suffered the worst setbacks in its history this year, including the killing of its chief spokesman and a senior commander, and the defection of a female leader well regarded inside the rebel group.

Born to a poor peasant family, Marulanda was radicalized by the vicious civil wars that ravaged Colombia in the middle of the last century, pitting Liberals against Conservatives.

He and other survivors of a 1964 army attack on a peasant community escaped to the mountains and formed the FARC, which grew over the decades to include some 15,000 fighters. The defense minister now estimates the FARC's strength at around 9,000.

Marulanda's deadly aim in combat against the army earned him the name "Sureshot."

Notoriously reclusive, he is said to have never set foot in Colombia's capital or to have left the country, giving just a handful of interviews over the course of his life.

Even senior commanders within the FARC speak of Marulanda with awe, and he is known to have the final word over any major decision taken by the FARC.

The guerrillas remain strong in many parts of Colombia's countryside, but many Colombians believe they have abandoned their communist ideology as the movement has come to rely chiefly on drug trafficking as its main funding source.

The government says the FARC currently holds 700 hostages, including three U.S. military contractors and French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt, who was running for president when the rebels kidnapped her in 2002.

[John Wayne]

Good riddance.....

[SEDONA7]

Per BBC (Sunday 25 May) , FARC rebels are confirming the death of Marulanda.

WOW !!!!!!!!!! Maybe now some real changes for the better are possible.

[Micky10]

My wife used "MY" language when she heard the news. Change has been on the way, with the death of main leaders and many defections as of late, this will only be expedited. BYE BYE !!!!!!!

Love - Micky

[Ciza29]

"He and other survivors of a 1964 army attack on a peasant community escaped to the mountains and formed the FARC, which grew over the decades to include some 15,000 fighters. The defense minister now estimates the FARC's strength at around 9,000."

Why do we always seem to create our own problems?

Atleast he didn't die in a Venezualen hospital.

[Cap'n Jib]

“Marulanda's deadly aim in combat against the army earned him the name "Sureshot."

“Born to a poor peasant family, Marulanda was radicalized by the vicious civil wars that ravaged Colombia in the middle of the last century, pitting Liberals against Conservatives.”


Not exactly!

He got is nickname ‘Sureshot’ from the Colombian Military who opposed him. He would put a gun to the head of his enemies and pull the trigger….therefore never missing.

The Liberals vs. Conservative tag is typical of the Associated Press and other press types. Anyone, who does even the most casual reading of the history of Colombia and most of Latin America, will understand the conflict as the ‘Havenots vs. the Haves’.

[Sawyer]

After following the situation in my wife's home country for 10 years, I never thought I would begin to see a change in the rebel situation, the corruption and the instability of the country. My wife was even more of a cynic than I was. We are both now thinking some really good things can happen to turn the country around.

Now if they can just find another President as good as the current one to help the progress continues. Then Colombia might begin to really become stable and improve its reputation.

[HonkyTonk]

It's interesting to note from another article:

"Nelly Avila Moreno, better known as ``Karina''...said she had been virtually cut off for the past two years and out of contact with the guerrillas' seven-member ruling Secretariat. She said she had fewer than 50 rebels under her command when she decided to surrender."

"Karina" was one of the few female top guerrilla commanders, even though the FARC is 1/3 female. She was spooked by the defector who cut off a FARC leader's hand recently and didn't know who to trust anymore.

It seems they're more and more losing their ability to even communuicate with each other. Our "Plan Colombia" has had its good sides; intercepted communications with state of the art equipment one of them, high bounties another.

Now to release the 700+- hostages...

The really good news is that Colombia seems to be on the right track! They certainly deserve it...