Columbian rebels claim murder of kidnapped governor
January 6th, 2010 - 3:38 pm ICT by BNO NewsBOGOTA, COLUMBIA (BNO NEWS) — Columbian rebels claimed Tuesday the killing of a provincial Columbian governor who was kidnapped and found dead last month.
Left-wing Columbian rebels claimed that they killed Governor Luis Cuellar of the southern jungle province of Caqueta soon after seizing him last month rather than trying him for corruption as planned.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) said in a statement that the Cuellar was allied with right-wing paramilitary militias formed in the 1980s to fight the rebels.
The statement was released on the www.anncol.eu website, which regularly carries FARC communications.
In the statement, the guerrillas claimed that the objective of retaining the governor was not to kill him or seek to ransom but to put him on trial for corruption.
The 69-year-old official was snatched from his home December 21 when kidnappers blasted open the door to his home, killed a police guard, and dragged the governor into a waiting jeep.
The government and Cuellar’s family speculate that he refused to cooperate with his abductors and was executed as an army search party closed in.
His body was found less than 24 hours later near the abandoned and burned-out vehicle with a slashed throat.
The news shocked Columbians and brought back memories of the bloodier days of the long conflict when guerrilla and paramilitary bombings, abductions, and massacres made daily headlines.
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Tags: 1980s, abductions, abductors, bno, bogota columbia, bombings, caqueta, corruption, farc, guerrilla, guerrillas, jungle, kidnappers, massacres, militias, police guard, ransom, rebels, revolutionary armed forces of columbia, search party