Top FARC guerrilla commander reportedly killed in Venezuela

BOGOTA, Colombia

Miguel Botanche Santillana, alias Gentil Duarte, head of the FARC dissident group, is presumed to have been killed in Venezuelan territory after a confrontation with criminal groups, Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano said Wednesday.

Duarte, one of the most wanted criminals by Colombian authorities, was part of the peace deal in Havana but was the first leader to leave the agreement before it was signed between the former guerrilla organization and the government in 2016. He subsequently announced a return to arms later in 2016.

"Colombian intelligence information reveals the presumed death of alias 'Gentil Duarte' in the state of Zulia, in Venezuela due to confrontations between drug trafficking and terrorist groups,” Molano said at a news conference in Cartagena. ​​​​​​​

Molano said the guerrilla commander had been subjected to operations in Colombia and "from that moment on, he sought refuge in Venezuela."

He reportedly survived an attack by Colombian authorities that killed 12 people in March 2021 but lost mobility in his right arm.

If confirmed dead, Molano added, it would prove that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro "protects groups of terrorists and drug traffickers and does not fight them, as we do."

The Colombian government has said most of FARC’s top leaders are currently hiding in neighboring Venezuela.

The Colombian police offered $1 million for the capture of Duarte. The Attorney General’s Office had issued multiple arrest warrants for Duarte for crimes that include forced recruitment of minors, kidnapping and murder. In April, it issued an arrest warrant against him for the displacement of 60 people between 2002 and 2004 in the Guaviare department.

Colombia has seen a surge in violence between guerrillas and the other rebel groups that are fighting to gain control of coca crops and trafficking routes.

Other top former FARC commanders, including El Paisa and Romana, were killed in Venezuela in 2021.