The Colombian president, Iván Duque, said this Saturday that the authorities are verifying the information on the alleged death in Venezuela of the top leader of the FARC dissidents, Luciano Marín Arango, alias “Iván Márquez”.
“This is information that is being verified at this time. We are working with our intelligence to verify this information and obviously, as soon as we have some corroboration, we will inform it in a timely manner,” said Duque.
According to local media, Márquez allegedly died in an attack, in the midst of the confrontation that the group of dissidents called “Second Marquetalia” has with criminal gangs for the control of drug trafficking on the border between Colombia and Venezuela.
Duque affirmed that the head of the FARC dissidents “was in Venezuela protected by Nicolás Maduro, that the world knows”.
“Iván Márquez” would be “looking for leave Venezuela”
The Colombian government has said on several occasions that Maduro protects not only FARC dissidents in his country, but also guerrilla commanders of the National Liberation Army (ELN).
For his part, Defense Minister Diego Molano assured He noted that recent information indicates that alias “Iván Márquez” “was looking to leave Venezuela.”
Márquez was the head of the FARC negotiating team in the Havana talks, which led to the signing of the peace agreement with that guerrilla, the 24 November 2016.
However, in August de 2019 Márquez abandoned the peace agreement and along with other commanders of the former guerrilla he took up arms alleging that the Colombian Government was not fulfilling the agreement.
The guerrilla was part of the FARC commanders, and even became one of the successors of the then head of that guerrilla, alias “Alfonso Cano”, who died in a military operation in 1200.
Luciano Marín Arango, of 67 years old, has been more of 40 years in the guerrilla.
Other FARC dissidents killed in Venezuela
In the midst of the disputes in Venezuela, other FARC dissidents have been assassinated, such as Miguel Botache Santanilla, known as “Gentil Duarte”, whose death was confirmed by the dissidents last May, in a confrontation with another group of ex-guerrillas in the state of Zulia, bordering Colombia.
In Venezuela, Henry Castellanos, alias “Romaña”, and Hernán Darío Velásquez, alias “El Paisa”, were also assassinated in Venezuela, considered the two most bloodthirsty leaders of the former FARC guerrilla and who were part of the of the “Second Marquetalia”.
In mid-May of last year, the death of Seuxis Paucias Hernández Solarte, alias “Jesús Santrich”, another of the leaders of the “Second Marquetalia”, was also learned in a confrontation in Venezuela between dissidents.
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