Colombian troops killed Raul Reyes, second in command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and more than 20 others in the early March raid of the rebel camp in Ecuador.The raid whipped up political and military tensions in the region as Venezuela and Ecuador mobilized troops to their borders with Colombia in protest.Venezuela wants FARC to be given political legitimacy by the international community as Colombia tries to negotiate the release of more than 700 hostages thought to be held by the rebels.The 2.7 million dollars was paid to the person who revealed the location of the rebel camp, the Colombian government said in Bogota late Friday.Reyes had been FARC’s chief negotiator with France over the release of Ingrid Betancourt, a dual citizen of Colombia and France and one-time Colombian presidential candidate who has been held by FARC for six years.On Wednesday, Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos indicated that Reyes, who was killed in the bombing raid on March 1, had been betrayed by an informant. He dismissed charges by FARC that the Colombian government had tracked a phone call from the French negotiator to find Reyes.
