News website La Silla Vacia on Friday moderated its claim that Colombia’s armed forces had killed FARC leader “Alfonso Cano.” The website did not rectify its initial report.
According to the website, an adviser of President Juan Manuel Santos and the spokesperson of the Colombian army denied there had been combat in the area where La Silla Vacia claimed Cano was killed.
However, according to the website, sources within the Interior and Justice Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the Army continued to insist the FARC leader is dead, despite the official denial of the news. This, said La Silla Vacia, was supported by “a source close to the FARC” who had stated that “two days ago they bombed the place where Alfonso Cano was and were ‘combing’ the area to find the body.”
“But given that the advisor of President Juan Manuel Santos and the press officer of General Alejandro Navas were emphatic in telling La Silla Vacia there had not even been combat, and we have no reason to believe they are lying to us, we publish this note,” the website said.
Following the publication about Cano’s alleged death, no other national media were able to confirm the news. Others discarded the news as a hoax.
The Associated Press correspondent in Bogota Frank Bajak tweeted that “AP has found no truth to rumors FARC leader dead.”
The only public official response came of the National Police that tweeted that “the rumor of the death of Alfonso Cano is FALSE.”