COLOMBIAN REBEL GROUP LEADER ‘JESUS SANTRICH’ KILLED IN ATTACK

A rebel leader who abandoned the 2016 peace accord with Colombia’s government and had been at large for three years was killed by Colombian troops in Venezuela, his new armed group said Tuesday, Manuel Rueda reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Seuxis Hernandez — known more commonly by his nom de guerre of Jesus Santrich — was one of the chief negotiators for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in peace talks with the Colombian government.

But he gave up on the peace deal less than two years following its signing after he was indicted in the US for alleged cocaine trafficking.

In a statement posted on its website, Santrich’s new rebel group, the Second Marquetalia Movement, said the 53-year-old insurgent was killed Monday by a Colombian commando unit that illegally entered Venezuelan territory.

The group said Santrich was riding a vehicle in the western Venezuelan state of Zulia when he was attacked with grenades and gunfire by Colombian soldiers. The troops cut off Santrich’s pinky finger before returning to Colombia in a yellow helicopter, the statement said.

Colombia’s government did not immediately comment on the group’s claim, which would constitute a major breach of Venezuela’s sovereignty and heighten tensions with President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government.

There also was no comment from the Venezuelan government. Earlier Tuesday, Colombia’s defense minister said the government was trying to confirm reports that Santrich had been killed in a battle between rebel groups operating in Venezuela.

Several other versions of Santrich’s death were published by Colombian media, including one account that said he was killed by mercenaries who wanted to capture him and claim a $10 million reward offered by the US State Department last year.

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