President Juan Manuel Santos has announced a $674,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of four FARC front leaders in central Colombia’s Guaviare department, according to a Monday press release on the presidential website.
Aliases “Kokoriko”, “Gentil Duarte”, “Albeiro Cordoba” and “Guillermo Gochornea” are the respective heads of the 1st, 7th, 16th and 44th FARC fronts operating in the department, which are, according to Santos, “depleted but have not disappeared.”
“These four bandits are the heads of the groups that are committing crimes here in Guaviare,” an area where, according to the head of state, the FARC leadership has begun to reorganize following the death of former second in command,”Mono Jojoy.”
“Just as Mono Jojoy fell, the bosses of the groups who operated and protected Mono Jojoy will fall,” said Santos.
“The order to our public forces, our army, our air force, our navy and our police, the order is very precise: to continue placing military and police pressure [on the guerrillas] with all that is in their power,” said Santos.
A separate reward of up to $2,800 was announced for information leading to the capture of guerrilla members both in Guaviare and around the country.
On May 4, the military announced plans to adjust guerrilla combat strategies in the coming months, including initiatives to break down militia cells embedded in civilian populations, in response to an expansion of FARC activities.