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Posted: Feb 15, 2010
Categories: General Blog, Safety and Security, The Conflict In Colombia, The Drug Trade In Colombia

FARC admits it killed provincial Governor

By Manuel Rueda, Editorial Director

Here is the FARC communiqué

On Tuesday the Anncol news agency published a communiqué from the FARC in which the guerrilla group officially claims responsibility for the dramatic murder of provincial governor Luis Francisco Cuellar.  Cuellar, the governor of the southwestern state of Caquetá, was killed by the rebels near a remote mountain road on December 21st, 2009, a few hours after a guerrilla commando stormed his house and kidnapped him.  In their communiqué, the FARC claim Cuellar had links with Paramilitary groups, but say they did not intend to kill him.  The rebels blame his death on President Uribe, saying they had only kidnapped Cuellar in order to stage a hearing where he would be tried for corruption.  

Here´s the full English translation of the communiqué:

The Southern Block of the FARC –  EP -- informs national and international media:

1. That despite the evident links of Caquetá governor Luis Francisco Cuellar with paramilitary groups, the objective of his detention was not to execute him or to ask for ransom payments, but rather to stage a political tribunal where he would be tried for corruption, because stealing was so prevalent in his administration that he even deducted 100.000 pesos from public servants salaries just so that they could keep their jobs.

 

2. That this unfortunate and tragic turn of events, is the direct result of President Uribe´s decision to order a military operation to rescue Cuellar.  We would like to highlight the President´s hypocritical attitude.  He first declares war on us, intensifies it, broadens it, finances it with exorbitant resources, takes it beyond Colombia´s borders and then sheds “crocodile tears”, using peoples´ pain for his reelection politics.  Why did the government not cry or do anything when Paramilitary groups allied with the military brigade at Florencia (the capital of Caquetá department) massacred thousands of Caqueteños in previous years?

 

3. Neither Colombia nor the world should forget that the current President has transformed State institutions into a corrupt paramilitary, counter-insurgency war machine, where local officials like governors and mayors play a key role. 

4.  Even if (presidential adviser) José Obdulio Gaviria and his prominent chief, the paramilitary warlord and president Alvaro Uribe Velez, continue to say there is no conflict in Colombia, ignoring the wishes of the majority of people in this country who desire peace, tragedies will continue to happen, because any war is a succession of tragedies.

 

5.  The FARC´s Southern Block ratifies that despite the unfortunate incidents that the armed conflict may inflict on either side, its secretariat is invariably committed to the following: 

The unilateral release of corporal Moncayo and soldier Calvo; the exchange of prisoners of war; to call on Colombians to stage a patriotic war against the American invasion of our country, facilitated by president Alvaro Uribe, the Cain of the Americas; and to continue the FARC´s unrelenting efforts to find a political solution to this war imposed on the Colombian people by the dominating class, after the – still unpunished -- murder of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan.

Notes: 

The FARC blame President Uribe for Cuellar´s death because upon hearing of the incident he ordered a military operation against the kidnappers.  Cuellar was almost 70 and he had a serious knee injury.  It is thought his captors killed him on the roadside, because he refused to walk into a jungle trail.  President Uribe reacted to the communiqué shortly after its release, calling the FARC a “cynical” group of “assassins and narcoterrorists” who “shed blood and lie.”

The FARC had kidnapped Cuellar – who was also a wealthy cattle rancher -- on 4 previous occasions and had asked for ransom money each time.  There is no solid evidence behind the guerillas claim that Cuellar was a corrupt governor with paramilitary links and there are no investigations against Cuellar for such crimes.  Even if there was some evidence, should that be a reason for the FARC to take justice into their own hands? 

Here is the Spanish version of the communiqué: 

http://anncol.eu/noticias-del-mundo/4/al-gobernador-del-caqueta-le-iban-a-hacer-juicio-pol%C3%ADtico-por-corrupto341