MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FARC still has 7.000 “armed terrorists” reveals outgoing Colombian Army chief

Eight years ago when President Uribe took office the number was 20.000

The Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces, FARC guerrillas, currently have an estimated “7.000 armed terrorists” which compares favourably with the 20.000 eight years ago when President Alvaro Uribe took office for the first time, said the Colombian Army outgoing commander, General Oscar Gonzalez.

“When we started with the ‘democratic security’ policy, eight years ago the estimate was 20.000 terrorists in arms”, belonging to FARC said Gonzalez who added that because of military pressure and operations that number has fallen significantly.

“Some demobilized, others were captured, others fallen in battle” and today the estimate is that “FARC still has 7.000 armed terrorists in its lines”.

However the Colombian General said the terrorist groups are now “fully committed to the narcotics business” because FARC, the country’s largest and most important guerrilla group has “little command, little control, no communications and are totally atomized”.

“Sooner than later” FARC will become one of the many “criminal gang” organizations that scourge the country, forecasted General Gonzalez who will be succeeded in the post by General Alejandro Navas.

The whole military command has been replaced by president elect Juan Manuel Santos who takes office Saturday August 7.

The head of the Chief of Staff, General Freddy Padilla, who is also retiring, in an interview with Colombia’s main daily El Tiempo anticipated he’s convinced that in the next four years “we will be seeing the culmination of the end of the end” for all those armed and criminal organizations that attack the Colombian people.

For General Padilla the take-off of President Santos new government will be signalling the ‘pos-victory’ for a country with “security, prosperity and heavy social investment”.

General Padilla will be replaced as the Colombian Armed Forces Chief of Staff by Admiral Edgar Cely. Padilla’s next job is ambassador in Austria.