The governor of the southern Colombian department of Caquetá, Luis Francisco Cuellar Carvajal, was found murdered in the rural part of his department Dec. 22. The FARC guerillas had reportedly had kidnapped him the day before. The body was found by security forces taking part in the search for the governor. Troops were not able to immediately recover the body as it was found in the middle of a mine field, presumably planted by the guerillas to exact further casualties.
The hunt was ordered after heavily armed men abducted Cuellar from his home in the department capital Florencia Dec. 21. This apparently marks the FARC's first kidnapping of a Colombian governor. (Colombia Reports [2], Dec. 22)
In Washington, Human Rights Watch harshly condemned the attack. "With this savage crime, the FARC is once again showing its ruthlessness and complete disregard for the laws of war and the well-being of civilians," said HRW Americas director José Miguel Vivanco. "The FARC seems to care nothing for the pain and suffering it causes to its victims and their families." (HRW, Dec. 23 via ReliefWeb [3])
See our last post on Colombia and the FARC [4].
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