Ecuadorean authorities have arrested a man believed to be the former head of the FARC’s 48th Front in Quito, Colombia’s armed forces commander said Monday.
After failing to present requested documentation, Fabian Ramirez Artunduaga, alias “Danilo,” was arrested in a shopping center in the Ecuadorean capital. The arrest was a joint operation conducted by forces from the Colombian army’s 6th division and the Ecuadorean armed forces and police, newspaper El Pais reported.
According to Admiral Edgar Cely, commander of Colombia’s armed forces, “Danilo” was head of the 48th Front until this past December, when his identity was revealed by FARC member alias “Robledo.” He is believed to be close to guerrilla leader Milton de Jesus Toncel, alias “Joaquin Gomez.”
During Artunduaga’s time as head of the FARC’s 48th Front, the front was allegedly responsible for the assassination of eight police in San Miguel, Putumayo department in September 2010, as well as for the murder of Lieutenant Coronel Edgar Garcia in an ambush in Puerto Asis, on November 1, 2010.
“Danilo,” who had a price tag of over $200,000 (COP380 million) on his head at the time of capture, was put in the hands of Ecuadorean immigration control authorities, to be returned to Colombian soil.
According to Caracol Radio, Artunduaga’s girlfriend and fellow FARC member Yanenci Hoyos Alarcon was arrested in the same operation.