Colombia’s Defense Ministry on Monday announced a $100,000 reward leading to the arrest of the assassins of seven policemen in northern Colombia earlier this month.
According to authorities, the attack was carried out by rebel group FARC in collaboration with the Urabeños, Colombia’s most powerful drug trafficking organization.
MORE: 7 police killed in north Colombia ambush, govt blames FARC-Urabeños alliance
The FARC last week said to be responsible for the attack while denying links to the Urabeños, originally formed from anti-guerrilla paramilitary forces.
Suspects Jhoverman Sanchez, nom de guerre “Manteco” and leader of FARC’s 58th front, and Javier Vidal, a.k.a. “Hermidez” or “El Mocho” who allegedly led the ambush, have been named as the main objectives in the plea for public information.
Both the FARC and Urabeños are active in the area where the attack took place. According to the local military, the two “former” rivals have agreed to a non-aggression pact to avoid violence harming their economic interest in drug trafficking and illegal mining.
So far this month, at least ten policemen have been killed in the states of Cordoba and Antioquia alone.
Minister of Justice Juan Carlos Pinzon has called for a higher level of troops and police in the area as a response to the attack.
MORE: Peace can bring more violence, says Colombia’s Defense Minister in defense of budget
In a speech made to army officers last week, Pinzon called on the government to maintain funding and ensure a powerful and organised armed forces regardless of the outcome of the ingoing peace talks in Havana.
Pinzon also suggested that FARC maintained close ties with criminal groups, and that Colombia must maintain military funding to ensure that peace did not bring about a period of increased violence and criminal activity as had been seen in neighbouring Latin American countries.
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