Colombian security forces trying to arrest Ivan Rios, a top rebel leader of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), killed a man in a shootout. If the body is identified as Rios, it would be the second member of the ruling secretariat of FARC, to be killed in a week.
Rios "was the youngest member of the secretariat. He was very important to the rebels," said Alfredo Rangel of the Bogota-based think tank Security and Democracy. "This shows the army is capable of taking down the rebels' most important pillars and that any of the leaders can fall at any time." [Read on.]
The State Department had a standing offer of a Reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Rios.
Perhaps the laptop Columbian forces captured contained some actionable intelligence.