Colombia’s armed forces say that the leader of the FARC rebel group, Guillermo Leon Saenz, alias ‘Alfonso Cano,’ is being pursued by some 1,000 troops, and is accompanied by only 12 guerrillas.
The armed forces began to close in on Saenz at the beginning of June, according to a report in El Tiempo, after receiving intelligence about his location.
At the end of the month, the army came close to catching Saenz when they arrived at a camp only hours after the guerrilla leader had left it.
Now, army sources told El Tiempo, the troops are moving in on the rebel boss, who is on the move in the mountains between the departments of Cauca and Huila. Some 500 fighters from the leader’s three rings of security have been sent to prevent troops approaching Saenz, leaving him with only 12 accompaniments.
Admiral Edgar Cely pointed out that these small numbers, coupled with the dense vegetation in the region, gives the communist leader the ability to sneak around the security forces, hindering his capture.