Colombia confirms the death of the national leader of the National Liberation Army

MADRID, 9 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Colombian Government has confirmed this Wednesday the death of Felipe Alcocer, alias 'Pirry', head of the national leadership of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla, after a military operation carried out last Saturday in Morales, in the department Bolivar, in the north of the country.

"We confront the narco-terrorists without respite. The Colombian Military Forces and Police neutralized alias 'Pirry', head of the ELN War Front, with 26 years in the structure, accused of murdering and displacing Colombians", detailed the Colombian President, Iván Duque, on his Twitter account.

According to the Colombian Defense Minister, Diego Molano, 'Pirry', who was 51 years old, was responsible for attacks on the civilian population, forced recruitment and terrorism, as he explained in statements collected by the Colombian newspaper 'El Tiempo'.

Likewise, Molano added that the ELN member had become the leader of this structure in the northeast of the country and "had committed terrorist attacks, whipping peasants, committing terrorist acts in Barrancabermeja, affecting the mineral industry and, especially , the recent attacks on facilities related to oil and pipelines, in that area of ​​the country".

In the operation carried out by the Colombian security forces, two people had lost their lives in the middle of a confrontation between Army and Police troops. Two other people would have been arrested.

"Because he is the maximum leader of the Darío Ramírez Castro War Front (FGDRC), not only the structure would be affected in the political, economic and armed aspects, but also the central command and control of the ELN, given the fact that would lose a renowned leader in DINAL, due to his experience in directing strategic objectives," the Colombian authorities have detailed, reported 'Semana'.