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Top 5 blows to Colombia's FARC: Where does 'Alfonso Cano' killing rank?

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) began to face major setbacks when former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe took office in 2002. The effort continues under current President Juan Manuel Santos. Top leaders have been captured and thousands of members have demobilized. Here is what Colombia has accomplished against the FARC in the past three years.

3. Killing of Raúl Reyes, Iván Rios

Scott Dalton/AP/File
FARC commander Raul Reyes takes a break along with other FARC rebels from talks to salvage Colombia's peace process, in Los Pozos, in the FARC controlled zone in southern Colombia on Jan. 14, 2002.

  • By Sara Miller Llana Staff Writer

Raúl Reyes, the FARC's No. 2, was killed March 1, 2008 at his hideout in neighboring Ecuador. The event caused diplomatic row in Latin America, as Colombian security forces had crossed the border without Ecuadorean consent to bomb the hideout.

Days later, another member of the FARC’s secretariat, Iván Ríos, was murdered by his security guard while he was sleeping. It was a sign of intra-FARC conflict that has increased amid ongoing blows against the group.

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