The location of ‘Raúl Reyes’ body is a mystery. Everything seems to indicate that the bare truth about its whereabouts is only known by a few people that will keep it to themselves forever.
This week, when the press constantly asked about the body, after the guerrillas proposed an exchange of corpses, the authorities came up with different versions stating that the FARC chief’ body was delivered to his family. The Minister of Interior and Justice, Fabio Valencia Cossio; Police Director General Óscar Naranjo; Prosecutor General, Mario Iguarán; and the Legal Medicine Institute claimed a regular protocol was followed and the body was legally delivered his relatives.
Nevertheless, the family argued in a letter sent to Liberal Party Senator Piedad Córdoba, that “the remains of ‘Raúl Reyes’ continue to be in the hands of the authorities and it is completely false that they have been handed over to the family”. According to the relatives, when they tried to claim the body in the Legal Medicine Institute, they were told that the institute was following orders and that the body had to be buried in a secret place without any family member authorized to attend the burial.
The mystery around the guerrilla’s body, whose real name is Édgar Devia Silva, started on March the 1st 2008, after the attack on his camp in Ecuadorian territory. Soon after the body was recovered in the camp, it was moved to the Legal Medicine Institute in Bogotá.
A few days later, a woman named María Ilda Collazos showed up saying she was the dead guerrilla’s wife. Parallel to this situation, and thanks to the work made by the Priest Darío Echeverri, some brothers and nephews of ‘Reyes’ started organizing paperwork to claim the body. The idea was to burry him discretely and under a false name to make sure a confidential funeral service took place avoiding any type of incidents. According to Echeverri, Mrs. Collazos and the brothers of ‘Reyes’’ met to plan the details on how to continue with the arrangements. “As far as I know, they met and I stepped aside. But I can assure I didn’t receive ‘Raúl Reyes’’ body”, said the priest.
A year ago, when the media reported the body was still in the Legal Medicine Institute, a week after the attack had taken place, it was said that its delivery was delayed to avoid possible violence. Only days away, a massive march was going to take place in several Colombian cities to protest against State violence. It was easy to tell that the coincidence of the march and ‘Reyes’’ funeral service was a troubling combination.
Surprisingly, a day after the peaceful march, the authorities said in a press release that it wasn’t a good idea to deliver the body at the time. The issue was forgotten and only until now it has become of general interest again.
Even though the authorities insist on the existence of documents that certify the delivery of the body to the family, nobody has yet shown such papers.
Due to the lack of evidence, sources consulted by SEMANA explain that in spite of the irregularity, the missing body might have a practical sense. With no corpse and no grave, the possibility of the existence of a symbolic reference point is eliminated. Every 1st of March, the FARC would make efforts to remember such date and pay tribute to the deceased leader. Bottom line, without a grave, the image of ‘Raúl Reyes’ could easily be forgotten. As long as the mystery of the body remains unsolved, this thesis seems to be the most reasonable explanation.
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