Sources from the Colombian security forces and military intelligence confirmed that one of the country’s most wanted criminals was killed in an attack by the Liberation Army National
Alias ’Gentil Duarte’ would have died as a victim of an attack in Venezuela. Private file.
During the morning of this Wednesday, May 25, it was confirmed that one of the FARC dissident leaders, Miguel Botanche Santillana, alias ‘ Gentil Duarte’, was murdered in a camp bordering Venezuela while he was committing a crime and was wanted by the authorities.
Although in the first instance the newspaper El Tiempoassured that he was not confirming the death of one of the most dangerous criminals in the country, in the last few hours sources from the Police and the Army confirmed to several journalistic portals in the country that, in effect, the head of the criminal structure died in that Venezuelan area called Casigua El Cubo, located in the municipality Jesús María Semprún, in the state of Zulia.
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 4. The aforementioned media reports that explosives were planted that day which, hours later, were detonated and killed the dissident of the peace accords.
Mocoa, August 06, 2019 Gentil Duarte . Farc dissident (Colprensa – Germán Enciso)
Furthermore, during the operation, alias Salomé, a minor imprisoned by that guerrilla and who had been at the service of crime. As it was known, the woman was her sentimental partner and he was hiding with Gentil Duarte and other criminals of Colombian origin.
It should be noted that Santillana had managed to escape from a military operation that took place in San Vicente del Caguán, Caquetá, < /b>in July 2021. Although the subject was seriously injured, he was not captured by the authorities. In that mission, 12 more people lost their lives.
In Venezuela, according to the newspaper El Tiempo, they received the protection of alias Jhon Mechas, leader of the dissidents of the 33rd front.However, the help of the other criminal was not enough for Gentil Duarte to get off scot-free this time.
The Colombian media even published several photographs showing the belongings of the subject. However, they assert that Gentil Duarte’s death was caused by combat with the ELN guerrillas and not by military operations. However, for now, there are no official statements by the state entities of Colombia or Venezuela.
Now, it is presumed that the dissidence led by the criminal would be under the command of Néstor Vera Fernández, alias ‘Iván Mordisco’, the first dissident of the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the extinct FARC guerrilla.
Alias ’Iván Mordisco&# x27; and ‘Gentil Duarte’ formed the first FARC-EP dissident group, the First Front, since the peace talks became official.
This was Gentil Darte
The death of the criminal became known after last April, the Attorney General’s Office announced that it had issued a new arrest warrant against the subjectfor the forced displacement of almost 60 people.
According to information from the authorities the dissident would have promoted a violent confrontation in the municipality of El Retorno located in the department of Guaviare between 2002 and 2004, in which there were constant armed clashes and other illegal actions that endangered the life and integrity of the communities.
In the repertoire of evidence, the Prosecutor’s Office has documented 11 acts of displacement, involving nearly 60 victims, among whom were minors and older adults. Therefore, a prosecutor from the Specialized Directorate against Human Rights Violations issued the arrest warrant due to “the evident criminal continuity of Gentil Duarte, who rejected the reincorporation process and remains in hiding ”, informed the authorities.
About the subject, it is known that he was born on October 15, 1963 in Florencia, Caquetá. At only 18 years of age he managed to enter the 14th Front of the Farc , where he began his first steps as a guerrilla; Some time later, his trajectory in the armed group allowed him to become the commander of the Farc’s Block 7 , where he led extortion and drug trafficking in the department of Meta. His power within the FARC grew so much that, in 2009, he was given a position in the General Staff of the Eastern Bloc of the FARC-EP.