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Luis Edgar Devia Silva (30 September 1948 – 1 March 2008), better known by his ''
nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
'' Raúl Reyes, was a leader,
Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...
member,
spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...
, and advisor to the Southern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People's Army ( FARC–EP). He died during an attack by the
Colombian army The National Army of Colombia () is the land warfare service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia. With over 361,420 active personnel as of 2020, it is the largest and oldest service branch in Colombia, and is the second largest army in the ...
within
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, sparking the
2008 Andean diplomatic crisis The 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic stand-off involving the South American countries of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. It began with an incursion into Ecuadorian territory across the Putumayo River by the Military of Colombia, Co ...
involving Ecuador,
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
and
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
.


Early years

Reyes was born in the
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
n town of
La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...
,
Huila Department Huila () is one of the departments of Colombia. It is located in the southwest of the country, and its capital is Neiva. Demography and Ethnography Huila department had a population of 1,122,622 inhabitants in 2020, of which 679,667 (60.54%) ...
. Devia Silva joined the Colombian Communist Youth (JUCO) when he was 16 years old. He later joined a
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
movement while working for a
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...
milk plant in the department of Caquetá. Devia Silva served as councilman for his home town representing the Colombian Communist Party (PCC), and was also a member of the party's Central Committee. ''
El Nuevo Herald ''El Nuevo Herald'' is a newspaper published daily in Spanish in Southeast Florida, United States. Its headquarters is in Doral. ''El Nuevo Heralds sister paper is the ''Miami Herald'', also produced by the McClatchy Company. About ''el Nuevo ...
''. 1 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
After becoming a member of
FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in 1966 from peasan ...
and joining its secretariat, Reyes became a prominent figure and
spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...
for the FARC,Farc aura of invincibility shattered.
Retrieved 2 March 2008.
number two man in the group's seven person ruling secretariat. Reyes was accused by the
US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
and the Colombian government of expanding FARC's
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
trafficking activities and setting related policies, including the production, manufacture, and distribution of hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States and other countries. He was accused of promoting the "taxation" of the
illegal drug trade The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, exce ...
in Colombia to raise funds for the FARC.Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
/ref> He had been formally sentenced in absence for the deaths of 13 policemen and 18 soldiers, 18 kidnappings and the deaths of a judge, a physician, three judicial auxiliaries, the ex-minister of Culture Consuelo Araújo, the congressman Diego Turbay and his mother, Catholic monsignor Isaías Duarte, Governor of Antioquia Guillermo Gaviria, the Colombian ex-minister Gilberto Echeverri, 11 members of the Valle del Cauca Assembly and at least four other persons. Most of these persons were kidnapped before their deaths. Gaviria, Echeverri and Araújo were killed by shots in the head when Colombian military forces stormed the camps where they were held by guerrilla insurgents. He was also found responsible for bombing Club El Nogal in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
where 36 people were killed. The Government of
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
had asked for his extradition for his participation in the kidnapping and death of Cecilia Cubas, daughter of the ex-president of Paraguay, who was kidnapped on 21 September 2004, and whose body was found in an abandoned house in February 2005. Before his death the
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
was offering a reward of up to US$5 million for information leading to his arrest. He was also included in
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
's "red list".Muere el guerrillero de las FARC con mayor proyección internacional.
Diario 2001. Consultado el 1 March 2008.
Colombian authorities believed that Raúl Reyes moved through the southern Colombian frontier, especially in
Putumayo Department Putumayo () is a departments of Colombia, department of Southern Colombia. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Ecuador and Peru. Its capital is Mocoa. The word ''putumayo'' comes from the Quechua languages. The verb ''p'utuy'' ...
, along the border with
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
. In late 2006, his possible presence in Ecuadorian territory was denounced by Colombian President
Álvaro Uribe Álvaro Uribe Vélez (born 4 July 1952) is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. Uribe started his political career in his home department of Antioquia Department, Antioquia. H ...
, while Ecuador's authorities rejected the claim, admitting only temporary FARC "infiltrations". Colombian Army General German Galvis repeated this claim in October 2006.


Negotiations with Wall Street

In June 1999, during peace negotiations with the government of Andrés Pastrana, Reyes met in the Colombian savannah with
Richard Grasso Richard A. "Dick" Grasso (born July 26, 1946) was chairman and chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange from 1995 to 2003. He started in 1968, when he was hired by the Exchange as a floor clerk. He later became embroiled in controversies ...
, then chairman of the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss investment opportunities for the FARC. The two men were photographed in an embrace which became known as the "Grasso abrazo."


Death

Reyes was killed during a Colombian military operation in Granada,
Putumayo Department Putumayo () is a departments of Colombia, department of Southern Colombia. It is in the south-west of the country, bordering Ecuador and Peru. Its capital is Mocoa. The word ''putumayo'' comes from the Quechua languages. The verb ''p'utuy'' ...
, on 1 March 2008, against an encampment situated near Santa Rosa de Sucumbíos, on the Ecuadorian side of the border along the
Putumayo River The Putumayo River or Içá River (, ) is one of the tributaries of the Amazon River, southwest of and parallel to the Japurá River. Course The Putumayo River forms part of Colombia's border with Ecuador, as well as most of the border with Per ...
. Previously, in February 2008, the FBI and DEA had assisted the Colombian government in tracing a satellite phone call made by Reyes to Venezuelan president
Hugo Chavez Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Hugo (film), ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise ...
in which they discussed the release of hostages. Reyes’s location was traced to an encampment located a mile across Colombia’s southern border in neighboring Ecuador — the government of which had earlier denied reports of Reyes’s presence. The attack started at 00:25. Reyes died after stepping on a FARC landmine while trying to flee the camp. The Colombian government acknowledged the killing of Reyes and 16 more guerrillas in a guerrilla camp inside Ecuador's border. The dead body was retrieved and transported to Colombian territory after the operation took place. Colombian soldier Carlos Edilson Hernández León was killed in action during the attack. According to a DPA report, ''
Noticias Uno ''Noticias Uno'' (known from 1992 to 2002 as NTC Noticias) is a nightly Colombian newscast produced by NTC Televisión and Broadcasting, aired weekends and holidays on pay TV channel Cable Noticias, CableNoticias. The program was formerly on sta ...
'' claimed that Hernández León died accidentally, due to a falling tree. According to the Ecuadorian government the attack happened from the border inside Ecuador’s territory, and it was a planned air strike followed by the incursion of Colombian troops transported by helicopters. The attack left a total of 20 guerrilla members dead in Ecuadorian territory, many of them wearing underwear or sleeping clothes. According to Ecuadorian president
Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963) is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as the 45th president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation until 2017, Corr ...
, the Super Tucanos warplanes entered in Ecuador's territory and struck while flying north, followed by troops who came by helicopters and completed the operation. The Ecuadorian president announced that a diplomatic note would be sent in protest, claiming that the action was a violation of Ecuador's airspace. Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez called the attack "a cowardly murder", and reacted by moving troops near the border with Colombia and recalling all personnel from the Venezuelan embassy in Colombia, saying that doing something similar inside Venezuela would be a "cause for war". Eventually the dispute did not escalate beyond a war of words. Diplomatic meetings and an apology from Colombian president Álvaro Uribe resolved the crisis a week later.


Aftermath

Colombian government officials have seized documents that, according to a spokesman for EX Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, show Ecuadorian President
Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963) is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as the 45th president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation until 2017, Corr ...
"has a relationship and commitments with FARC", and, according to the Colombian National Police Director Oscar Naranjo, Reyes had met Ecuador's minister of internal security to discuss an "interest in making official relations with the FARC". According to Colombian authorities, the three laptop computers seized were found to hold extensive information about the FARC, their operations and connections. The Colombian government handed over the three PCs and their ancillary devices to a team of
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
experts, for a period of two weeks. Interpol's analysis had a limited scope, toward the sole objective of certifying whether the information was altered in any way by the Colombian government, and not to examine the contents of the documents themselves. The Interpol report concluded that the key documents were unmodified, The Interpol's list of information recovered from the devices mentions over 30,000 written documents and more than 7,000 e-mail addresses. On 15 June 2008, Interpol issued a new press release in response to a statement by Ecuador's Foreign Ministry that the international organization considered to be incorrect. The press release stated that " cuadorinaccurately suggests that Interpol had not established whether the eight seized exhibits forensically examined by Interpol's computer forensic experts had been recovered by Colombian authorities on March 1, 2008 from a FARC camp or belonged to Raul Reyes. In fact, based on a review of all the information and material provided by Colombia, including a classified oral briefing, Interpol was able to satisfy itself, and clearly stated in its report, that the seized computer exhibits it was requested to forensically examine were taken from the FARC camp on March 1, 2008 and belonged to Raul Reyes." Interpol also added "that validating the contents of the computer exhibits were not manipulated after their seizure by Colombian authorities is not in any way, shape or form the same as saying that the contents of the user files are true and accurate. Interpol therefore objects to those who suggest that Interpol's report validates the source and accuracy of any particular document or user file contained therein." On 16 March 2010
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...
admitted having had a meeting with Reyes at an indeterminate date during Pastrana's government.


References


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Raul 1948 births 2008 deaths Anti-revisionists People from Huila Department Members of FARC Colombian guerrillas killed in action