Colombia rebel group claims leader 'Jesus Santrich' slain

A Colombian rebel group says government troops killed its leader, who had abandoned the 2016 peace deal with Colombia’s government and had been at large for three years

BOGOTA, Colombia -- A rebel leader who abandoned the 2016 peace accord with Colombia’s government and had been at large for three years was killed by Colombian troops in Venezuela, his new armed group said Tuesday. Seuxis Hernandez — known more commonly by his nom de guerre of Jesus Santrich — was one of the chief negotiators for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in peace talks with the Colombian government. But he gave up on the peace deal less than two years following its signing after he was indicted in the U.S. for alleged cocaine trafficking. In a statement posted on its website, Santrich's new rebel group, the Second Marquetalia Movement, said the 53-year-old insurgent was killed Monday by a Colombian commando unit that illegally entered Venezuelan territory. The group said Santrich was riding in a vehicle in the western Venezuelan state of Zulia when he was attacked with grenades and gunfire by Colombian soldiers. The troops cut off Santrich's pinky finger before returning to Colombia in a yellow helicopter, the statement said.