Seuxis Pausias Hernández Solarte, more commonly known as Jesús Santrich (31 July 1967 – 17 May 2021), was a guerrilla leader of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People's Army (FARC–EP). He was a member of the
Chamber of Representatives of Colombia until August 2019 and was the FARC's delegate in the
Colombian peace process in
Havana.
Life
He was a member of a
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
youth organization as a teenager and studied Social Sciences at the
University of Atlántico
The University of Atlántico ( es, Universidad del Atlántico), also called Uniatlántico, is a public, departmental, coeducational, research university based in the city of Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia. It is the largest higher education ...
.
He was wanted by the US Government on allegations of
drug trafficking
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
, carried out six months after the peace process. A
Truth Commission report released in 2022 showed that the charges against Jesús Santrich and his arrest were a plot by the
DEA and Colombian Attorney General Néstor Humberto Martínez to jeopardize the
Colombian peace process, incite the FARC to take up arms again, and send a message to the public that the peace agreement had failed.
Death
Santrich was assassinated on 17 May 2021 during a shooting in
Venezuela. Five other people died in the incident. Following his death several versions were put forward by the media on who was responsible, with some blaming mercenaries, the
Venezuelan National Guard and the FARC blaming Colombian commandos illegally operating in Venezuela.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santrich, Jesús
Members of FARC
1967 births
2021 deaths
Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia
Deaths by firearm in Venezuela