As March comes to an end, Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera announced it has been a “black” month for the FARC, El Colombiano reported Thursday.
“In the past 30 days our armed forces conducted 650 tactical missions, engaged in 121 fights and destroyed 57 camps of the FARC guerrillas,” he said.
“We’re intensifying operations, but we are still determined to give a second chance to those who repent and decide to stop doing harm,” Rivera stated in relation to 85 FARC guerrillas who recently submitted to the demobilization process. A further 90 guerrillas were arrested and 53 were killed in battle, he added.
Among those killed were prominent FARC commanders, alias “Oliver Solarte” and alias “Jeronimo Galeano,” a guerrilla responsible for organizing the security for the group’s supreme-leader “Alfonso Cano.”
Military operations were strengthened predominantly in the central departments of Tolima and Choco and against the security ring surrounding Alfonso Cano during the month.