Colombia’s outgoing armed forces commander General Freddy Padilla called on FARC leader “Alfonso Cano” to surrender and avoid death.
Padilla spoke on Wednesday on a visit to the town of Miraflores in the Guaviare department, where FARC guerrillas are highly active.
The military chief invited Alfonso Cano, whose real name is Guillermo Leon Saenz, to demobilize, on the grounds that he runs the risk of meeting a similar fate to his predecessor Pedro Antonio Marin, alias “Tirofijo,” who died of a heart attack after more than 40 years fighting against the state.
Padilla rejected Cano’s recent proposal for peace talks, saying this was a guerrilla strategy to win breathing room.
The armed forces commander is set to step down along with President Alvaro Uribe on August 7. He will be replaced by current navy commander Edgar Augusto Cely.