Colombia said today Farc guerrillas slit a state governor's throat hours after they kidnapped him during a brazen raid in one of worst rebel strikes during president Alvaro Uribe's government.
The kidnapping of Luis Cuellar, the Caqueta state governor, underscored how Latin America's oldest insurgency remains capable of high-profile attacks despite being battered to its weakest level in decades by Uribe's US-backed offensive.
Armed rebels, dressed in military uniforms, blasted through the door of Mr Cuellar's house in a southern Colombian city late on Monday, killed a police guard and dragged the governor away from his wife and into a waiting jeep.
Mr Cuellar's body was found yesterday as troops scoured the remote jungle in hopes of rescuing him. The kidnapping was a reminder of the darker days of Colombia's conflict when lawmakers were easy prey for rebel squads.
"He had his throat cut, they slaughtered him miserably," Uribe said in a national broadcast after Mr Cuellar's body was discovered near the vehicle abandoned by rebels as they fled into jungle near Florencia city.
"As the armed forces were in pursuit, the terrorists cut the governor's throat to avoid firing any shots," he said.
The Farc, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, had yet to issue an statement on the kidnapping.
The rebel group once controlled large parts of the country. But urban bombings and kidnappings have eased as Uribe sent troops to take back areas from armed groups who fund their war with cocaine trafficking.
Foreign investment has soared in Colombia, Latin America's fourth largest oil producer, as cities became safer, kidnappings dropped and soldiers took back rural areas once off limits to petroleum and mining companies because of security risks.
Reuters