Major leader of Colombia FARC dissidents killed in military operation -president

While some 13,000 former FARC members demobilized under the peace deal, others remained armed under Duarte's FARC-EP group and a second group known as the Segunda Marquetalia, led by Ivan Marquez. A number of major FARC dissident leaders have been killed, with Colombian intelligence reporting Duarte was presumed dead following clashes with rival armed groups in Venezuela.

An important leader from a criminal group directed by former Colombian rebels, who had been accused of killing social leaders, carrying out car bombings and coordinating drug trafficking with Mexican cartels, died during a military operation at dawn on Monday, President Ivan Duque said. Leider Johany Noscue, known as Mayimbu, was killed in mountainous terrain close in Suarez municipality in Colombia's Cauca province, he said.

The government had offered a reward of $256,000 for information regarding Mayimbu's whereabouts. "This operation shows that symbols of evil continue to fall wherever they are found. They will have no hiding place, they will have no refuge," Duque said in a video address.

Mayimbu was one of Colombia's worst criminals and had terrorized people living in the provinces of Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Narino, said Defense Minister Diego Molano. Dissidents under the command of Gentil Duarte, which included Mayimbu, are one of two groups founded by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who reject the 2016 peace deal that ended the guerrilla group's role in Colombia's internal armed conflict.

Mayimbu commanded 12 FARC dissident structures, which include more than 1,800 combatants, said general Luis Fernando Navarro, the commander of Colombia's military. While some 13,000 former FARC members demobilized under the peace deal, others remained armed under Duarte's FARC-EP group and a second group known as the Segunda Marquetalia, led by Ivan Marquez.

A number of major FARC dissident leaders have been killed, with Colombian intelligence reporting Duarte was presumed dead following clashes with rival armed groups in Venezuela. Colombia's conflict has run for nearly 60 years, leaving 260,000 dead and millions displaced.