Contrary to what the authorities said, the illegal armed structure ensured that the ringleader was discharged by the State
Contrary to what the Colombian authorities said, the illegal armed structure assured that the leader was killed drop by the state. Photo: Colprensa
Last week the Colombian authorities announced the death of one of the leaders of the FARC dissidents, Miguel Botanche Santillana, alias ‘Gentil Duarte’. According to the national government, the criminal was murdered in a camp located on the border between Colombia and Venezuela while he was committing a crime and was wanted by the authorities.
Agreed According to Colombian intelligence information, ‘Gentil Duarte’ had been hiding for more than six months in the neighboring country and his whereabouts would have been leaked on May 4th. The first reports indicated that the leader of the dissidents would have been assassinated by members of the Second Marquetalia.
However, a statement was recently made known that was apparently issued by the FARC dissidents. in which they assure that the Colombian State is responsible for the death of ‘Gentil Duarte’.
“With a very strong pain that only the revolutionaries of the heart can feel, we regret to inform that the Colombian State together with the United States embassy making use of the dirty war and in a creeping way on May 4, 2022 at 1: 30 hours, he cowardly murdered our commander and comrade Gentil Duarte while he slept in his bed,” the document says.
Likewise, the dissidence assured that the Colombian State family of a guerrilla, sentimental partner of the fallen ringleader, to steal information and force her to locate a load of explosives in the place where they slept.
The explosive material was indeed activated while the couple was sleeping and ended their lives, according to information previously provided by the Colombian authorities.
In the statement issued by the dissidents, they lamented the death of the leader and recognized that it is a strong blow against this illegal armed group.
“We recognize that it is a hard blow to the guerrilla movement not only of the Farc-EP but of all the guerrillas at a national and international level, due to their capacity, their ability in the war of mobile wars, their example, their modesty , his courage, his willingness to fight against injustice and his love for the people are qualities that any revolutionary, no matter where he finds himself, would admire,” the document adds.
< u>Who was Gentil Duarte, Colombia’s most wanted terrorist
Miguel Botache Santillana, known as alias Gentil Duarte, was born on October 15, 1963 in Florencia, Caquetá, one of the regions that has suffered the most from the horrors of war.
When he came of age he entered the 14th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the extinct FARC. That is where the approximately 40 years of life as a guerrilla began.
Different NGOs that have dedicated themselves to talking about the life of this criminal assure that since he entered the FARC he stood out among the other guerrillas, for which he quickly managed to rise to become commander of Block 7, where he was in charge of articulating crimes such as extortion and drug trafficking in Meta.
In those first years of the century, when he began his criminal life as head of one of the guerrilla blocks, alias Gentil Duarte formed very close ties with top leaders such as alias Alfonso Cano and alias Mono Jojoy. These relationships led him to be included in the General Staff of the Eastern Bloc of the Farc in 2009.
Between 2010 and 2011 the top leaders of that guerrilla died: Alfonso Cano and Jorge Briceño, Therefore, alias Gentil Duarte climbed a step further and also became one of the main objectives of the Colombian authorities.
In 2012, public dialogue began between the national government and the FARC, in Havana (Cuba) and one of the first leaders to participate in this process was alias Gentil Duarte. In fact, in 2016 he publicly stated that he was part of the negotiating team.
In the middle of that year, the FARC’s Front 1 announced that it would not join the process, so Gentil Duarte returned to Colombia to mediate with alias Iván Mordisco, head of that front. However, he disappeared for several months and at the end of the year it became known that he preferred to betray the talks and continue with the dissidence.