Starving FARC terrorist surrenders

BBC:

A leading commander of the Farc rebels in Colombia has surrendered to the authorities, officials say.

Nelly Avila Moreno, known as Karina, was blamed for a string of murders and abductions, and for extortion in the north-western Antioquia region.

Her surrender is a coup for President Alvaro Uribe who made her a priority target for the security forces in 2002, the BBC's Jeremy McDermott says.

Farc has been fighting to overthrow the government for more than 40 years.

Karina was "nearly dying of hunger" when she and another guerrilla, known as Michin, handed themselves in, Colombian Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said.

"We have been after this woman who did such damage to Antioquia and the whole region of Uraba for a long time," Mr Santos told RCN Radio.

Karina, who is in her 40s, had a fearsome reputation in Antioquia, and many businessmen and ranchers suffered extortion, kidnapping and murder at her hands, our correspondent says.

None doubted her fighting prowess and she has the wounds to prove it: she has lost an eye in combat, has scars across her face and a bullet wound on one of her arms.

In 2002, a reward of more than $800,000 (£409,000) was placed on her head.

Our correspondent says Karina was an example to the women in the rebel army, who make up more than a third of the ranks of Farc, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Her immediate boss Ivan Rios, a member of the Farc ruling seven-man secretariat, was murdered in March by one of his bodyguards.

...

It seems a stretch to say a killed terrorist was murdered. It is good news to see that more of the FARC leadership is in distress. Being a narco terrorist and kidnapper is just not as lucrative as it used to be. Gateway Pundit says that Karina was responsible for killing President Uribe's father in the 80s. Hopefully she will help Colombia find the other FARC leaders.

The Scotsman has more on Karina.