Bogota - The Colombian army killed a Marxist rebel commander from the country's second-largest guerrilla group, the government said on Sunday, part of a five-decade military offensive against the National Liberation Army (ELN).
Jose Amin Hernandez, known by his nom de guerre Marquitos, was killed during combat in rural Segovia municipality in the northwestern province of Antioquia.
“Alias Marquitos, commander of the Dario Martinez front and member of the national leadership of the ELN, has been killed. Congratulations to the armed forces,” President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter.
Hernandez commanded 13 ELN units in Antioquia and Bolivar provinces, key regions for drug and arms trafficking and illegal mining, the government said.
The ELN, founded by radical priests inspired by the Cuban revolution, has been battling the government for 51 years.
Though the group has held exploratory talks with authorities, it has yet to enter formal peace negotiations, unlike fellow rebels the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, who have been hammering out an accord with the government for 30 months.
Reuters