Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday that the death of ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is a moral blow for the FARC, who allegedly had ties to the north African leader.
Santos recalled alleged emails seized from computers of slain FARC commander “Raul Reyes” that indicate that guerrilla group FARC visited Libya on at least one occasion in 2000 to request a $100 million loan of Muammar Gaddafi who was killed last week after being removed from power by armed rebels.
The Colombian president’s claims that the FARC had ties to the Gaddafi regime is being supported by U.S. security analyst Douglas Farah, who has said that Gaddafi had “developed a close and ongoing relationship with the FARC, becoming acquainted with its leaders in meetings of revolutionary groups regularly hosted in Libya.”
According to the Colombian President, the death of Gaddafi is the second setback for the FARC this week after the announcement of Basque separatist group ETA to disarm and seek independence from Spain through non-violent means.
“So, Gaddafi died and another supporter of the guerrillas and the narco-terrorism of the FARC and ELN died,” Santos said in a speech in Santa Marta.