Intercept of FARC communication led to Reyes attack

Sunday Telegraph:

The top Colombian Marxist rebel leader killed in a jungle air strike last week was tricked into using a satellite phone tracked by American experts, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.

The location of Raul Reyes, deputy commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), was pinpointed just inside Ecuador after Colombian hostage negotiators deliberately intensified talks over the release of captives to force him either to authorise, or to stop, the next stage.

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Local paid informants had already told Colombian authorities that Reyes was operating along a stretch of the Ecuadorian-Colombian frontier.

So although he only used the phone sparingly for security reasons, he gave away his precise hiding place when he switched on the machine to deal with the latest development in the negotiations.

The Farc switches satellite phones for its senior commanders regularly and bought several new devices in Miami last September, but US intelligence learned the numbers at an early stage.

As part of its anti-narcotics programme, the US has supplied Colombia with the technology to track satellite phone calls. A team of freelance American technical experts hired by the Colombian government runs the operation.

During a recent bout of negotiations to free Farc hostages, the team was able to identify the phone being used by Reyes from calls he made to Venezuela. It was at this stage that the plan to trick him into making further exchanges was put into action.

When Reyes made the fatal call - his only means of communicating orders from his Amazon hideout - the Colombian air force deployed an air strike force already on standby.

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US intelligence hopes that Reyes' death will unleash a power struggle and possible rift within Farc ranks, especially as the ageing rebel commander Manuel Marulanda is reportedly seriously ill and being cared for on an estate in Venezuela near the Colombian border.

Marulanda's presence is believed to be a major reason that Mr Chavez moved 10,000 men and tanks to the Colombian border - to warn off Bogota from another cross-border attack.

Another senior Farc leader Ivan Rios was killed by his bodyguard on Friday, further fuelling hopes of a split in the guerrilla movement.

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Meanwhile, Mexico has launched an investigation into reports that five of those killed alongside Reyes in the Farc camp were Mexicans believed to have been attending a political seminar with the rebels in a show of solidarity.

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The information on the leader in Venezuela is new. If Chavez was trying to protect him, the force that he sent was probably inadequate to stop a determined attack.

Mexico needs to get a grip on those who are supporting FARC becasue they are probably supporting operations against Mexico that have attacked oil pipelines and other facilities in recent months. It is very likely that the Mexican insurgents are also being supported by Chavez and Venezuela. Mexico can not allow this operation to grow. Perhaps there is more information on the lap tops about the Mexican connection.