CNN

Colombian military kills FARC leader

March 16--The Colombian military killed a rebel leader who was a liaison with Mexican drug cartels, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said.

16 de marzo de 2011

The military operation near Colombia's border with Ecuador, in the department of Putumayo, happened on Tuesday, the president said.

The rebel leader known as "Oliver Solarte" worked directly for the secretariat of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"He was a very important person inside the FARC," the president said Tuesday. "He managed all the drug trafficking and arms trafficking for the southern bloc of the FARC."
Solarte also was the FARC's contact with Mexican cartels to traffic drugs and accept financing, he said.
 
Read more here.

Semana International delivers news about Colombia in English. Find more in our home.