Colombian police captured an alleged FARC member on Wednesday, suspected of kidnapping three Chinese oil workers in the southern department of Caqueta.
According to authorities, the captured Molano Francisco Martinez, alias “Lechonero,” was a member of the Teofilo Forero Mobile Column of the FARC who earned his name by selling a local pork dish called “lechona” as a facade to access key information about the oil companies working in the area.
Under the orders of Ivan Dario Velasquez Saldarriaga, alias “El Paisa,” Lechonero followed the foreigners for several weeks to determine when was the best opportunity to kidnap them, according to research group Gaula.
The three Chinese oil workers from British oil company Emerald Energy were kidnapped while traveling in a van in the rural area of San Vicente early last June.
They remain in captivity under the custody of their captors.