The brother of killed FARC leader “Alfonso Cano” and member of the Bogota council, Roberto Saenz, says that he does not believe in violence as the path to peace.
Saenz says that “only with community action, with pacific and non-violent action, will we be able to bring about the changes that we all dream about.”
Saenz made the statements following the killing of his brother by Colombian armed forces last Friday.
According to Saenz, there was no going back for the rebel leader, who saw no path for himself other than involvement with the rebel group.
“His deep-seated convictions would not allow him to see outside of the route he had chosen. He didn’t think a political rapprochement was possible without the complete breakdown of democratic structures in the country,” said the council member.
The last time the brothers saw each other was in 1991, after which Cano became completely involved with the guerrilla struggle, rising in the ranks to become the supreme leader of the world’s longest running insurgent groups.
Less than a month before Cano’s death in combat, his brother made a public plea for him to leave his jungle hideout and end the civil war that has plagued Colombia for almost five decades.
The death of the guerrilla leader is considered to be the greatest blows against the organization in its long history but the implications for peace are still to be seen.