The dissident leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Seuxis Pausias Hernandez Solarte, better known as “Jesus Santrich”, died on Monday in Venezuela during clashes between illegal groups, according to the Colombian press.
The death of Santrich, one of the most wanted by the Colombian authorities, was originally put forward by the Colombian magazine Semana, citing “high-ranking Venezuelan sources” and reporting that an unspecified number of guerrillas were also killed.
“Warning: Jesus Santrich was shot dead in Venezuela during a clash with illegal groups,” the magazine says on its online page, explaining that “there are no further details” and that “the former FARC guerrilla was one of the first dissidents in the Peace Agreement ( in Colombia) after a difficult trial ”.
Meanwhile, Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano Aponte announced via his Twitter account that “information from the intelligence services [serviços secretos] pointed to the deaths of Santrich and other criminals in alleged clashes that occurred yesterday [segunda-feira] in Venezuela “.
“The information is being verified. If this fact is confirmed, it will turn out that drug criminals have taken refuge in Venezuela, ”explained Diego Molano to Aponte.
“Jesus Santrich” was born in the Colombian city of Toluviejo on July 31, 1967 and became one of the leaders of the FARC, and after leaving the group became a member of the House of Representatives of Colombia.
This was part of the negotiations on peace agreements between the Colombian government and the FARC signed in 2016, which led to the demobilization of Colombian guerrillas.
On April 9, 2018, he was arrested and charged with drug dealing, but released a year later by the Colombian Supreme Court for lack of evidence.
In August 2019, he returned to arms as head of FARC dissidents’ Second Marketing, which motivated his expulsion from the Special Peace Establishment Jurisdiction and General Revolutionary Alternative Force parties.
Colombian intelligence services have already confirmed that Santrich was in Venezuela, but the lack of diplomatic ties between the two countries made it difficult to access information about the circumstances of his death, which will occur five days after Colombian justice ratified his extradition to the United States to respond to New York on drug trafficking charges.
