Dutch guerrilla Tanja Nijmeijer revealed Tuesday that, before his death, the FARC’s slain military commander “Mono Jojoy” was dedicated to an orchestra that he created in his jungle encampment.
In an interview with journalist Jorge Enrique Botero, Nijmeijer gave personal details into the life of the late Mono Jojoy, whose real name was Victor Julio Suarez Rojas.
Prior to the Colombian Air Force’s September 2010 bombing raid in which 70 tons of explosives destroyed Mono Jojoy and his camp, the fallen chief was very ill with diabetes, Nijmeijer said.
“In those days (September 2010), Mono had diabetes pretty bad,” said Nijmeijer. She went on to say that although he was sick, the FARC commander never let his disease deter him from his duties.
There were times; however, when Mono Jojoy was so immobilized by his affliction that Nijmeijer recalled that during his last march he had to be “loaded in a hammock” across the countryside.
She explained that while Mono Jojoy was being carried, he passed her by and raised his fist in the air saying, “Go for the Cup, Holland!” as the Netherlands were in the soccer World Cup Semifinals at the time.
Another side of the fallen chief described by the Dutch translator was that he was partial to the musically aesthetic.
“In the afternoons he was devoted to the orchestra that he had created some weeks before. The orchestra came to his office and there they began to compose and rehearse new songs. He listened and sang,” said Nijmeijer, “From my hiding spot, I heard him sing every night.”
The Dutch guerrilla spent ten years with the FARC and was present when Mono Jojoy was killed. In her interview she described in detail the bombings with all the confusion, the destruction and the temporary loss of her hearing.
Nijmeijer talked about her time with the rebel group and how she despised the arrogance of some commanders, and that she became bored in the mountains with a total lack of cigarettes.
But to put aside any doubt pertaining to her loyalties, the Dutchwoman said, “If they think I’m here against my will, they can come find me. Here I wait for them with my AK, with mortars, with everything.”