The kidnappers of governor Luis Francisco Cuellar Carvajal slit their victim’s throat to avoid being caught by authorities, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said on national television on Tuesday evening.
Uribe’s speech followed the find of the body of the Caqueta department’s governor outside of the city’s capital Florencia where Cuellar had been kidnapped.
Uribe rejected the assassination and blamed the FARC — widely considered responsible for the murder — of having a double agenda.
“The government has given all guarantees to the narcoterrorists of the FARC so they can move forward with the release of our countrymen, of [soldier] Moncayo and the rest. This terrorist group, instead of proceeding to release them, what it did was kidnapping and assassination the governor of Caqueta,” Uribe said.
The President said the government will continue to cooperate with the Catholic Church and Red Cross who are seeking the release of two hostages as promised by the FARC and expected within weeks.
However, Uribe vowed state troops will continue to fight the FARC and find those who are held responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Cuellar.
The governor’s son, Luis Fernando Cuellar, told Caracol Radio he also thought the FARC are guilty of the assassination of his father but criticized the government for failing to protect his father, despite already having been kidnapped four times.
According to the governor’s son, the victim was protected by only three policemen.
It is the first time since Uribe took office in 2002 that a politician of the caliber of Cuellar is kidnapped.