Raúl Reyes

Luis Edgar Devia Silva aka Raúl Reyes.

Luis Edgar Devia Silva aka Raúl Reyes (September 30, 1948 – March 1, 2008) was a Secretariat Member, spokesperson and Advisor to the Southern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-EP. Reyes was born in the Colombian town of La Plata, Huila Department. He was a Marxist by conviction who joined a trade union movement while working for a milk plant of Nestlé in the department of Caquetá.

After becoming a member of FARC and joining its Secretariat, Reyes became a prominent figure and spokesperson for the FARC.

Reyes was accused by the US Department of State and the Colombian government of expanding FARC's cocaine trafficking activities and setting related policies, including the production, manufacture, and distribution of hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States and other countries. He was accused of promoting the "taxation" of the illegal drug trade in Colombia to raise funds for the FARC, as well as participating in the murder of hundreds of people who violated or interfered with the FARC's cocaine-related policies.

Reyes was also accused of kidnapping hundreds of civilians for extortion or political purposes, involvement in several town massacres and some Colombian city bombings. His cynicism is well remembered after a reporter asked him if he planned to release a 5 year old child he had kidnapped and he laughed loudly at the question. Before his death the United States Department of State was offering a reward of up to US$5 million for information leading to his arrest.

Colombian authorities believed that Raúl Reyes moved through the southern Colombian frontier, especially in Putumayo, along the border with Ecuador. In late 2006, his possible presence in Ecuadorian territory was denounced by Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, while Ecuador's authorities rejected the claim, admitting only temporary FARC "infiltrations". Colombian Army General German Galvis repeated this claim in October 2006.

Death

Main article: 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis

Reyes was killed during a Colombian military operation in Granada, Putumayo, on March 1, 2008 against an encampment situated near Santa Rosa de Sucumbíos, on the Ecuadorian side of the border along the Putumayo River. The attack started at 00:25.

The Colombian Government acknowledged the killing of Reyes and 16 more guerrillas in a guerrilla camp 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) inside Ecuador's border. The dead body was retrieved and transported to Colombian territory after the operation took place.

According to the Ecuadorian government the attack happened 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the border inside Ecuador’s territory and it was a planned air strike followed by the incursion of Colombian troops transported by helicopters. The attack left a total of 20 guerrilla members found dead in Ecuadorian territory, many of them wearing underwear or sleeping clothes. According to Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa, the war planes entered 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) in Ecuador's territory and struck while flying north, followed by troops who came by helicopters and completed the attack.

The Ecuadorean president announced that a diplomatic note would be sent in protest, claiming that the action was a violation of Ecuador's airspace. Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez called the attack "a cowardly murder", and reacted by moving troops near the border with Colombia and calling all personnel from the embassy, saying that doing something similar inside Venezuela would be a "cause for war". He also rendered a minute of silence as a tribute in his weekly televised show.

According to one report, Colombian government officials have seized documents that show Correa "had both a relationship and various commitments with FARC" and that Reyes had met Ecuador's minister of internal security to discuss an "interest in making official relations with the FARC".