Colombia investigates the possible death of Iván Márquez in Venezuela

President Colombian, Ivan Dukesaid this Saturday that the authorities are verifying the information on the alleged death in Venezuela of the top leader of the FARC dissidents, Luciano Marín Arango, alias “Ivan Marquez”.

“At this time, information is being verified. We are working with our intelligence to verify that information and obviously as soon as we have any corroboration we will inform you in a timely manner.“, he claimed Duke.

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According to local media, Márquez allegedly died in an attack, in the midst of the confrontation that the dissident group called “Second Marquetalia” has with criminal gangs for control of drug trafficking on the Colombian border with Venezuela.

Duque affirmed that the head of the FARC dissidents “was in Venezuela protected by Nicolás Maduro, that the world knows.”

CONFLICT AT THE BORDER

The Colombian government has said on several occasions that Maduro protects in his country not only the FARC dissidents but also the guerrilla commanders of the National Liberation Army (ELN).

For his part, Defense Minister Diego Molano assured that recent information indicates that alias “Iván Márquez” “was looking to leave Venezuela.”

Márquez was the head of the FARC negotiating team in the talks in Havana, which led to the signing of the peace agreement with that guerrilla on November 24, 2016.

However, in August 2019, Márquez abandoned the peace agreement and, together with other commanders of the former guerrilla, took up arms again, alleging that the Colombian government was not complying with the agreement.

The guerrilla was part of the FARC commanders, and even became one of the successors of the then head of that guerrilla, alias “Alfonso Cano”, who died in a military operation in 2011.

A LIFE IN THE GUERRILLA

Luciano Marín Arango, 67 years old, has been in the guerrilla for more than 40 years.

He was born on June 16, 1955 in Florencia, capital of the southern department of Caquetá, and his record indicates that in the early 1980s he joined the FARC’s 14th Front, shortly before the peace process with the government of the then president Belisario Betancur that led to the birth of the left-wing Patriotic Union (UP) party.

DISSIDENTS KILLED IN VENEZUELA

In the midst of the disputes in Venezuela, other FARC dissidents have been assassinated, such as Miguel Botache Santanilla, known as “Gentil Duarte”, whose death was confirmed by the dissidents last May, in a confrontation with another group of former guerrillas in the state. of Zulia, bordering with Colombia.

Also assassinated in Venezuela were Henry Castellanos, alias “Romaña”, and Hernán Darío Velásquez, alias “El Paisa”, considered the two most bloodthirsty chiefs of the former FARC guerrilla and who were part of the “Second Marquetalia”.

In mid-May of last year, news of the death of Seuxis Paucias Hernández Solarte, alias “Jesús Santrich,” another of the leaders of the “Second Marquetalia,” was also reported in a confrontation in Venezuela between dissidents.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.