Alfonso Cano

Infobox Military Person
name= Guillermo León Sáenz
lived=


caption=
nickname="Alfonso Cano"
born=birth date and age|1948|07|22
placeofbirth= Bogota, Colombia
placeofdeath=
allegiance=Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
Communism
branch=
serviceyears=
rank= Secretariat member, Chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
unit=
commands=
battles=
awards=
relations=
laterwork=

Guillermo León Sáenz, known by his "nom de guerre" Alfonso Cano, is the main leader of the FARC-EP ("Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - Ejército del Pueblo"). Guillermo León Sáenz was a student leader at the Law faculty of the Nacional University in Bogota.

Very little is known of his childhood, youth, or student days. Up until recently, he still traveled to Bogota, under disguise, to meet underground FARC operatives. Cano assumed the direction of the guerrilla group FARC EP on May 2008 after the death of Manuel Marulanda Vélez (Tiro Fijo). After the death of former ideological leader Jacobo Arenas in August 1990 he soon became the ideological leader of the group. In 2000, Cano founded and became the leader of the Clandestine Colombian Communist Party. Ideologically, he is a hardliner, with the belief that his ideas and side will triumph absolutely. [es icon "Diario de la resistencia de Marquetalia", Jacobo Arenas, Ediciones Abejón Mono, 1972.]

Some people and western intelligence agencies have mentioned that Alfonso Cano was already the acting leader of the FARC in recent years even before the death of Manuel Marulanda Vélez. It has been speculated that such a change in leadership of the FARC could eventually change their policies according to current global economic and political guidelines, perhaps opening the possibility for future negotiations. Colombian media and intelligence sources have mentioned that Alfonso Cano would have been involved in a series of guerrilla attacks in the southwestern corner of the country in the first semester of 2005.

According to the Colombian Army and to FARC commander Timoleón Jiménez aka 'Timochenko', Cano is the new Commander in Chief after the death of Manuel Marulanda [cite web |url=http://colombiareports.com/2008/05/25/farc-admits-death-of-manuel-marandula/ |title= FARC confirm death of ‘Manuel Marulanda’ |publisher=Colombia Reports |date=Sunday, 25 May 2008] . That rumor was confirmed by FARC in a statement broadcast by Colombian media.

Arrest Warrants for FARC Leaders

Colombia's Administrative Department of Security (DAS), issued international warrants through Interpol to 179 countries for arresting the 14 principal leaders of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest guerrilla group.

"With this step, the FARC leaders are listed as some of the terrorists most wanted in the world," the DAS said in a statement.

The Colombian government has also offered a hefty reward of up to 500,000 U.S. dollars for any information leading to the arrest of the FARC leaders, alive or dead.

The "black list" includes FARC top leader Manuel Marulanda and other rebel chieftains like Alfonso Cano, Rodrigo Londoño, Germán Briceño, Ovidio Ricardo, Efraín Guzmán and Joaquín Gómez.

In early 2002, the Pastrana administration also urged the arrest of former FARC negotiators involved in the failed peace talks with the government. Their names are Raúl Reyes, Simón Trinidad, Joaquín Gómez and Fabián Ramírez, whose legal recognition were annulled on February 20, shortly after President Pastrana broke off the peace talks which started in January 1999.

The hunt for Cano

The Colombian Army has been actively hunting Alfonso Cano since the beginning of 2008.

On March 6, 2008, the "Miami Herald" stated that Colombia's "El Tiempo" newspaper had reported "that troops were pursuing a top FARC leader known as Alfonso Cano, believed to have been wounded in a Feb. 21 helicopter attack." [ [http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/445787.html "Miami Herald" story of Mar. 6, 2008.] ] "El Nuevo Herald" reports that this attack on Cano took place on the border of the two states of Tolima and Valle del Cauca, but that very rainy weather has hampered the effort to track Cano. [ [http://www.elnuevoherald.com/167/story/171866.html es icon "El Nuevo Herald" article of Mar. 7, 2008.] ]

After the death of Manuel Marulanda, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe ordered the deployment of an extra 3,900 soldiers. A total of 6000 soldiers are now in the mountain range between Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Huila, fighting the FARC's 21st front, which is believed to be under the direct command of Cano. [cite web |url=http://colombiareports.com/2008/06/03/colombian-army-hunts-for-alfonso-cano/ |title= Colombian army hunts for Alfonso Cano |publisher=Colombia Reports |date=Tuesday, 3 June 2008]

References

External links

* [http://www.state.gov/p/inl/narc/rewards/63843.htm US Department of State]
* [http://www.farcep.org/ FARC-EP Official Website]

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