Colombian military kill Uriel, one of the leaders of the ELN guerrilla
Commander Uriel, one of the main guerrilla leaders of the National Liberation Army (ELN), was killed in a military operation in northwestern Colombia, President Iván Duque reported this Sunday.
“This is a coup of the utmost importance because one of the most visible figures of that terrorist organization has fallen,” the president declared in an address broadcast on social media and held in the department of Chocó, where the attack took place.
The death of Andrés Vanegas -41-year-old insurgent leader – is the biggest blow to the last recognized guerrilla in the country under Duque, in power since 2018.
According to the president, Uriel was responsible for kidnappings, murders and recruitment of minors, and was “one of those who claimed responsibility” for the car bomb attack carried out in January 2019 against a cadet school in Bogotá, which left 22 victims in addition to the aggressor.
As a result of that attack, Duque buried the peace talks initiated with the ELN by his predecessor, Juan Manuel Santos.
