Hernan Dario Velasquez, nicknamed “El Paisa”, one of the dissident commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was shot dead in Venezuela by other rebels, Colombian press reported on Sunday.
Citing Colombian and Venezuelan intelligence sources, several Colombian media report that “El Paisa” was the victim of an ambush in the state of Apure, bordering Colombia. However, neither the Colombian government of Ivan Duque nor that of Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro has confirmed this information. The Colombian army told the press that it was not aware of any such information.
? Jesús Santrich, el otro jefe guerrillero que habría muerto in Venezuela. Su caso y el by Hernán Darío Velásquez,… https://t.co/0sPZaxZVly
# Atención ? | Medios de comunicación local revelaron que fuentes de inteligencia habrían confirmed the muerte of… https://t.co/g9OM95qOGv
A feared commander during his years at the head of the elite FARC force, Hernan Dario Velasquez rose to fame for his armed actions, including the car bomb attack that left 36 dead and dozens injured in February 2003 in Bogota.
He had moved away from the FARC in 2018, following the peace agreement signed in 2016 which had disarmed the most powerful guerrillas in Latin America, and of which he was nevertheless one of the negotiators. He reappeared in 2019 alongside Ivan Marquez, ex-number two of the FARC who heads the Segunda Marquetalia, and Jesus Santrich, another influential guerrilla, to announce his return to arms. On several occasions, the Colombian government accused that of Caracas of having protected these dissident rebels, which it has always denied.
Call for complete peace
The United States announced on November 30 that it had removed the FARC from their blacklist of foreign terrorist organizations. A few hours later, Ivan Marquez – who remained on the list of state department terrorist organizations, just like Hernan Dario Velasquez – called for a new dialogue in favor of a “Complete peace” in Colombia. He did not say whether his message was addressed to the government of current president, conservative Ivan Duque, or to the government that will be elected in 2022, with the law preventing the current president from running for re-election.
The NGO Indepaz estimates that Segunda Marquetalia has around 2,000 members. According to the Colombian government, Ivan Marquez is established on the Venezuelan side of the border and operates with the support of the armed forces of Mr. Maduro’s government.