MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombia's FARC number 2 killed in Ecuador border clash

The number 2 commander of Colombian guerrillas Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia has been killed in combat Saturday, the government said, describing the action “as the biggest blow so far” to FARC.

Raul Reyes, 59, also known as Luis Edgar Devia, is the first member of the cocaine funded FARC ruling secretariat to be killed in combat in the group's 44-year history. He died with 16 other rebels during an attack near the Ecuadorian border. Reyes, who became the public face of FARC as the group's spokesman, was considered a contender to take over the group. His death marked the largest setback to Colombia's rebels since Uribe took office in 2002. The U.S. State Department had offered a bounty of 5 million US dollars for information leading to his arrest, as well as the other six members of the ruling secretariat. Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said Reyes was killed during an air raid followed by ground combat. The rebels had been in a camp 1.8km on the Ecuadorian side of the border across from the province of Putumayo when the attack was called in. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe had telephoned Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa to discuss the operation. "The Colombian Air Force proceeded to attack the camp from the Colombian side (of the border)," he said. "Once the camp was bombarded, Colombian forces were ordered in to secure the area and neutralize the enemy." The killing of Reyes is the latest in a string of successes for Colombia's armed forces, backed by billions in US aid, against senior rebels over the past year. The killing of such a leading figure within FARC secretariat, whose members are renowned for dying of natural causes, means the group's aura of invincibility has evaporated, said the BBC. Reyes who had joined the rebel group from the Communist party in the seventies was also remembered for being part of the FARC negotiating team during the failed three-year peace process with the previous government of Andres Pastrana. The death of Reyes comes as President Uribe administration and rebels bicker over negotiations for the release of hostages held for years by the FARC. The group has proposed trading about 40 captives, including French-Colombian former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. defense contractors, for hundreds of imprisoned guerrillas.