Alfonso Cano

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Guillermo Leon Saenz aka "Alfonso Cano"

Alfonso Cano is the nom de guerre of an important ideological leader of the FARC-EP ("Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - Ejército del Pueblo"). Cano's real name is Guillermo León Sáenz. It has been speculated the Cano would eventually be in line for assuming the position currently known to be held by FARC's Manuel Marulanda. After the death of former ideological leader Jacobo Arenas in August 1990 he soon became the ideological leader of the group. In 2000, Cano founded and became the leader of the Clandestine Colombian Communist Party.

Some people and western intelligence agencies have mentioned that Alfonso Cano may have already become the acting leader of the FARC in recent years. It has been speculated that such a change in leadership of the FARC could eventually change their policies according to current global economic and political guidelines, perhaps opening the possibility for future negotiations. Colombian media and intelligence sources have mentioned that Alfonso Cano would have been involved in a series of guerrilla attacks in the southwestern corner of the country in the first semester of 2005.

[edit] Arrest Warrants for FARC Leaders

Colombia's Administrative Department of Security (DAS), issued international warrants through Interpol to 179 countries for arresting the 14 principal leaders of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest guerrilla group.

"With this step, the FARC leaders are listed as some of the terrorists most wanted in the world," the DAS said in a statement.

The Colombian government has also offered a hefty reward of up to 500,000 U.S. dollars for any information leading to the arrest of the FARC leaders, alive or dead.

The "black list" includes FARC top leader Manuel Marulanda and other rebel chieftains like Alfonso Cano, Rodrigo Londoño, Germán Briceno, Ovidio Ricardo, Efraín Guzmán and Joaquín Gómez.

In early 2002, the Pastrana administration also urged the arrest of former FARC negotiators involved in the failed peace talks with the government. Their names are Raúl Reyes, Simón Trinidad, Joaquín Gómez and Fabián Ramírez, whose legal recognition were annulled on February 20, shortly after President Pastrana broke off the peace talks which started in January 1999.