Two demobilized guerrillas from the FARC and ELN have been captured while receiving an extortion payment in Ibague, the capital of the central Colombian department Tolima, El Espectador reported on Wednesday.
The military captured the men receiving the payment of just over $1,000 from a victim who had been receiving death threats for over 3 months.
The arrested men were identified as Jose Jeremiah Flores Moreno and Leonicio Belalcazar Tenorio, demobilized from the FARC’s 21st Front and the ELN’s “Jorge Luis Cabrera” Front respectively. They had allegedly been posing as members of the FARC and extorting residents in the department for more than six months, with crimes occurring in the municipalities of Ibague, Alvarado, Lerida, Anzoategui and Santa Isabel.
Military sources said the arrests highlight the fact that many demobilized guerrillas and general criminals have been posing as FARC members in order to intimidate residents, depsite no longer being involved with the guerrilla organization.