High ranking Colombian military officials deny that they paid an Ecuadorean citizen to reveal the location of late FARC guerrilla ‘Raul Reyes’, local media reported Wednesday.
Both Semana and El Tiempo reported that the Colombian army had denied allegations by Ecuadorean newspaper El Universo that an Ecuadorean informant, known for security reasons as J.C.R.F or alias ‘Pirata’, was paid around US$2.5 million to disclose ‘Raul Reyes’ location.
El Universo claims that ‘Pirata’ was working with Ecuadorean intelligence undercover, that he infiltrated the FARC and that ‘Raul Reyes’ knew him as ‘Carlos’. The newspaper also claims the Colombian police knew of ‘Pirata’ and his role as a double agent.
Guerrilla leader ‘Raul Reyes’ was killed when the Colombian military bombarded a FARC camp on Ecuadorean soil on March 1, 2008.
The Colombian government announced in November 2008 that it had paid around US$2.5 million to the informant who supplied the FARC camp’s location.
Diplomatic relations between Bogota and Caracas were fractured following Colombia’s military incursion, which resulted in the death of 24 others, including an Ecuadorean.
An Ecuadorean court had requested the extradition of former Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos in connection with the bombing raid. The request has since officially been withdrawn.
