Colombian forces kill top guerrilla leader linked to former presidential candidate's murder
President Abelardo de la Espriella announced that security forces shot dead Robinson Gutiérrez, a leading figure of a dissident FARC faction accused of financing the killing of ex-presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe.
Colombia's president, Abelardo de la Espriella, confirmed that law-enforcement agents eliminated Robinson Gutiérrez, the chief political and financial operative of the dissident Teofilo Forero Castro faction of the FARC. The lethal raid occurred in the southern department of Huila. De la Espriella asserted that Gutiérrez played a key role in the murder of Miguel Uribe Turbay, a 39-year-old former Senate candidate who was shot at a campaign rally and later succumbed to his injuries.
Intelligence services have identified Ivan Marquez, the former second-in-command of the FARC, and his right-hand man, known as Zarco Aldinever, as the masterminds behind the killing, noting they had taken refuge in Venezuela. In total, nine individuals have been detained in the investigation, among them a minor who fired the fatal shot.
Why it matters
The killing of a high-profile guerrilla leader signals a major step in Colombia's effort to bring those responsible for political violence to justice.
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