Colombian Army Unearths
Rebel Hide-Outs In Caves
La Macerena (Reuters) - Colombian soldiers have unearthed guerrilla
hide-outs in caves deep in the jungles where rebels evaded attacks,
stashed landmines and stored medical supplies, authorities said on
Saturday.
Colombia's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC by its Spanish initials, has been battered by
President Alvaro Uribe's U.S.-backed offensive, which has driven
guerrillas deep into jungles and mountains.
The army said troops had been searching for the cave hide-outs for
five years in their hunt for a top FARC commander, Jorge Briceno,
better known as Mono Jojoy, one of the guerrilla group's leadership
secretariat.
"They used to feel safe ... now they are living in caves they use to
hide away," said Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, showing a
group of reporters the caves in La Macarena region in Meta province,
to the southeast of Bogota.
Troops were led to the caves after a tip-off from a FARC deserter.
Reporters at the site were shown weapons, landmines, surgical
equipment and explosives discovered in camps surrounding the caves.
The FARC, labeled terrorists by the United States and Europe, once
controlled swaths of Colombia as it what it says was a fight for a
socialist state. Latin America's oldest rebel insurgency, the FARC
has funded its war with drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.
But violence and kidnappings have declined since Uribe sent troops
out to retake the parts of the country. Fighting goes on in remote
areas, especially around cocaine trafficking routes. The FARC lost
three top commanders last year and has suffered a string of military
setbacks. |
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