Brigadier General Juan Pablo Rodriguez, commander of the Colombian army’s 5th Division, says that he does not want to give false hopes about the anticipated capture of the FARC‘s supreme leader “Alfonso Cano,” El Espectador reports.
The announcement follows the arrest of guerrilla leader “Araceli” in the south-west Colombian Cauca department. Araceli was allegedly the leader of the FARC’s 66th Front and in charge of one of “Alfonso Cano’s” security rings.
During the arrest two guerrillas who accompanied Araceli were killed, and the alleged guerrilla leader herself was injured and taken to a hospital in the city of Neiva.
The Colombian army is carrying out several offensives in the mountainous area on the border of the Tolima and Cauca departments in an effort to locate the FARC’s number one.
Last week, the army claimed to have killed twelve guerrillas in the south of Tolima, who are thought to have been part of Cano’s personal security network.
Referring to the ongoing search for “Alfonso Cano,” Brigadier General Rodriguez said that although the pressure had not stopped, he did want to raise expectations. According to El Espectador he commented “Hopefully we will be able to give that news.”