Colombian authorities say the head of security for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the right-hand man of the guerrilla groupâ„¢ leader has been killed.
Officials said Ernesto Hurtado Penaloza, also known as “el Negro Eliecer,” was a close aide to the FARC’s top commander Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, known by his nom de guerre “Timochenko.”
Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said Å“el Negro Eliecer” was killed on Sunday in a clash with army forces around the town of Hacari, which is located in the countryâ„¢s northern state of North Santander on the border with Venezuela.
“Following a special operation by our military and police forces, this person was shot down, along with a woman guerrilla who served as the chief of finances for the faction managed by ‘el Negro Eliecer’,” he said.
‘El Negro Eliecer’ was the commander of the Antonio Santos Mobile Column — a sub-division of the FARCâ„¢s 33rd Front, and had a bounty of $270,000 on his head.
He was reportedly a key associate of the head of the Popular Liberation Army (EPL) dissident faction Victor Navarro, alias “Megateo”, who is one of the biggest drug lords in northern Colombia.
FARC is Latin America’s oldest guerilla group and has been fighting the Colombian government since 1964.
The group has more than 9,000 fighters operating across a large swathe of the eastern jungles of the Andean nation.
MP/AS
This article originally appeared on : Press TV