FARC dissident commander killed in Colombia

Walter Patricio Arizala, or ‘Guacho’, was killed by Colombian army in an operation near border with Ecuador

By Lokman Ilhan

BOGOTA (AA) – FARC dissident commander Walter Patricio Arizala, alias "Guacho", was killed by Colombian security forces in an operation near the border with Ecuador, President Ivan Duque announced Friday.

Speaking to reporters in Medellin city, Duque said Arizala had been shot dead by Colombia’s "heroes".

Arizala led a faction of former rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that kidnapped and murdered three Ecuadorians in March who were members of the Quito newspaper El Comercio.

He was accused of drug trafficking as well as extortion and homicide and was on the most wanted lists of both Colombia and Ecuador.

Colombia and FARC guerillas reached a peace deal in November 2016, ending more than 50 years of conflict between the two sides.

Arizala’s faction refused to adhere to the agreement.

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