Alfonso Cano
Encyclopedia
Guillermo León Sáenz Vargas (22 July 1948 – 4 November 2011), more commonly known by his nom de guerre Alfonso Cano was the commander
of the militant group known as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC). He succeeded founder Manuel Marulanda
(alias Sureshot, in ) in March 2008 and commanded the Marxist
rebel group until being killed in action by the Colombian Army
.
at the National University of Colombia
in 1968, where he became a member and leader of the Communist Youth. It was there that he met members of FARC, who invited him often to lecture about Marxism
for a number of guerrilla columns. He dropped out of university to join the group and devoted himself to political activism. Ideologically he was described as a hardliner, with the belief that his ideas and side would ultimately win.
. His main role was originally to serve as a sort of political commissary for the urban network of the guerrilla in Bogota, and in 1978 he was appointed chief of finances for the Central High Command. A search warrant on his apartment, where he lived with his first wife (Maria Eugenia) and son (Federico), ended in his arrest in 1981 and imprisonment in the La Modelo Penitentiary, where he founded a library. He was freed in 1983 as a result of the amnesty offered by the government of president Belisario Betancur
.
He soon moved to the mountains to join the guerrilla soldiers, but instead of active combat he was sent to Casa Verde, the headquarters of the FARC commanders, in La Uribe (Meta), where he was recognized as an intellectual and as such was part of a number of peace dialogues with the government. His main role was to encourage the growth of the Coordinadora Guerrillera Simón Bolívar, a movement to join all guerrillas operating at the time in Colombia. With communism's collapse in Europe in 1989, Cano argued that the Soviet model had failed, and the FARC should develop its own model based on national ideas, whose paradigmatic figure was to be Simon Bolivar
.
After Arenas' death in 1990, Cano succeeded him, joining the seven-member Secretariat that led the group, and remaining as the second in command for about two decades. He was chief negotiator during failed peace talks in 1991 and 1992. However he had little role in the long running 1999–2002 FARC–Government peace process with the government of Andres Pastrana. Pastrana later said that Cano never attended the peace talks. In 2000, Cano founded and became the leader of the Clandestine Colombian Communist Party
.
and Ivan Rios
were killed in action. In July 2008, the Colombian Army rescued fifteen of FARC's highest profile hostages, including Íngrid Betancourt
in Operation Jaque
, further weakening the rebels' position.
As commander in chief, Cano spread his views about the guerrilla, and the nature and solution to the political conflict in Colombia. He believed that the conflict was a class struggle, and that it should be the rich and multinational companies that should fund the war, encouraging blackmailing and kidnapping of politicians and the rich. Mass kidnappings were used to press the government into exchanging hundreds of guerrilla members in jail. The most outstanding example of this practice was the kidnapping of 12 deputies from the Valle del Cauca department, an action that he coordinated with Pablo Catatumbo
. Cano was known as an ultra-orthodox, inflexible, and dogmatic Marxist.
Cano was shot and killed by army forces on 4 November 2011 in the southwestern Cauca Department
in what the Colombian government dubbed "Operation Odysseus." President Juan Manuel Santos
confirmed his death on television, claiming the Colombian army dealt the FARC "the biggest blow in the history" of the guerrilla organization. The FARC leader's death came months after he fled his stronghold in the south of Tolima, being pursued by armed forces since. FARC responded to Santos' plea to lay down arms by saying that it would continue its fight against the government.
FARC-EP Chain of Command
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia's chain of command is divided as follows:# Commander in Chief of the FARC-EP, ultimate decision maker...
of the militant group known as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
(Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC). He succeeded founder Manuel Marulanda
Manuel Marulanda
Pedro Antonio Marín Marín , known by his "nom de guerre" Manuel Marulanda Vélez, was the main leader of the FARC-EP...
(alias Sureshot, in ) in March 2008 and commanded the Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
rebel group until being killed in action by the Colombian Army
Colombian Army
The National Army of Colombia is the land military force of the government of Colombia and the largest service of the Colombian Armed Forces...
.
Early life
Born into a middle-class family in Bogotá, Cano began his studies in anthropologyAnthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
at the National University of Colombia
National University of Colombia
The Universidad Nacional de Colombia , also called UNAL or just UN, is a public, national, coeducational, research university, located primarily in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, Colombia...
in 1968, where he became a member and leader of the Communist Youth. It was there that he met members of FARC, who invited him often to lecture about Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
for a number of guerrilla columns. He dropped out of university to join the group and devoted himself to political activism. Ideologically he was described as a hardliner, with the belief that his ideas and side would ultimately win.
Joining FARC
During the late 1970s Cano is believed to have joined FARC, where he quickly rose through the ranks, working with the group's co-founder and chief ideologue, Jacobo ArenasJacobo Arenas
Jacobo Arenas was a Colombian guerrilla and ideological leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . He was also one of the FARC figures involved in the organization and creation of the Patriotic Union political party in 1985...
. His main role was originally to serve as a sort of political commissary for the urban network of the guerrilla in Bogota, and in 1978 he was appointed chief of finances for the Central High Command. A search warrant on his apartment, where he lived with his first wife (Maria Eugenia) and son (Federico), ended in his arrest in 1981 and imprisonment in the La Modelo Penitentiary, where he founded a library. He was freed in 1983 as a result of the amnesty offered by the government of president Belisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur Cuartas is a Colombian statesman, who as a member of the Colombian Conservative Party was President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986.- Biographic data :...
.
He soon moved to the mountains to join the guerrilla soldiers, but instead of active combat he was sent to Casa Verde, the headquarters of the FARC commanders, in La Uribe (Meta), where he was recognized as an intellectual and as such was part of a number of peace dialogues with the government. His main role was to encourage the growth of the Coordinadora Guerrillera Simón Bolívar, a movement to join all guerrillas operating at the time in Colombia. With communism's collapse in Europe in 1989, Cano argued that the Soviet model had failed, and the FARC should develop its own model based on national ideas, whose paradigmatic figure was to be Simon Bolivar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
.
After Arenas' death in 1990, Cano succeeded him, joining the seven-member Secretariat that led the group, and remaining as the second in command for about two decades. He was chief negotiator during failed peace talks in 1991 and 1992. However he had little role in the long running 1999–2002 FARC–Government peace process with the government of Andres Pastrana. Pastrana later said that Cano never attended the peace talks. In 2000, Cano founded and became the leader of the Clandestine Colombian Communist Party
Clandestine Colombian Communist Party
The Clandestine Colombian Communist Party is an underground communist party in Colombia. It is politically linked to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia , which founded the party in 2000...
.
Leader of FARC
On 26 March 2008, Manuel Marulanda Vélez, the founder and leader of FARC, died of a heart attack and Cano succeeded him as commander-in-chief. During the same month two other members of the Secretariat, Raul ReyesRaúl Reyes
Luis Edgar Devia Silva , better known by his nom de guerre Raúl Reyes, was a Secretariat member, spokesperson, and advisor to the Southern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-EP...
and Ivan Rios
Iván Ríos
José Juvenal Velandia, aka Iván Ríos, aka Manuel Jesús Muñoz Ortiz, , born in San Francisco, Putumayo, Colombia, was the Head of the Central Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the youngest member of this guerrilla's Central High Command.-Death:Ríos was killed by his security...
were killed in action. In July 2008, the Colombian Army rescued fifteen of FARC's highest profile hostages, including Íngrid Betancourt
Íngrid Betancourt
Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist.Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008...
in Operation Jaque
Operation Jaque
Operation Jaque was a Colombian military operation that resulted in the freedom of 15 hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt. The hostages had been held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . The operation took place on July 2, 2008, along the...
, further weakening the rebels' position.
As commander in chief, Cano spread his views about the guerrilla, and the nature and solution to the political conflict in Colombia. He believed that the conflict was a class struggle, and that it should be the rich and multinational companies that should fund the war, encouraging blackmailing and kidnapping of politicians and the rich. Mass kidnappings were used to press the government into exchanging hundreds of guerrilla members in jail. The most outstanding example of this practice was the kidnapping of 12 deputies from the Valle del Cauca department, an action that he coordinated with Pablo Catatumbo
Pablo Catatumbo
Jorge Torres Victoria also known as "Pablo Catatumbo" is a Colombian guerrilla leader, member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and part of the secretariat of the FARC and their higher command known as the Estado Mayor Central which is made up some 30 to 60 members...
. Cano was known as an ultra-orthodox, inflexible, and dogmatic Marxist.
Death
On 6 March 2008, the Miami Herald stated that the national daily El Tiempo had reported troops were pursuing Cano, and he was believed to have been wounded in a 21 February helicopter attack. This attack on Cano took place on the border of the two departments of Tolima and Valle del Cauca, rainy weather hampering the effort.Cano was shot and killed by army forces on 4 November 2011 in the southwestern Cauca Department
Cauca Department
Cauca is a Department of Colombia. Located in the south-western part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila Department to the east and the Nariño Department to the south, covering a total area of...
in what the Colombian government dubbed "Operation Odysseus." President Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón is a Colombian politician who has been the President of Colombia since 7 August 2010. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Finance, and Minister of National Defense.-Career:...
confirmed his death on television, claiming the Colombian army dealt the FARC "the biggest blow in the history" of the guerrilla organization. The FARC leader's death came months after he fled his stronghold in the south of Tolima, being pursued by armed forces since. FARC responded to Santos' plea to lay down arms by saying that it would continue its fight against the government.