Pablo Catatumbo
| Jorge Torres Victoria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname(s) | "Pablo Catatumbo" |
| Born |
March 19, 1953 Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia |
| Allegiance | |
| Rank | Secretariat member, Bloc commander |
Jorge Torres Victoria also known as "Pablo Catatumbo" (born March 19, 1953 in Cali, Valle del Cauca Department) is a Colombian guerrilla leader, member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and part of the secretariat of the FARC and their higher command known as the Estado Mayor Central which is made up some 30 to 60 members. In March, 2008 Torres-Victoria was appointed member of the secretariat of the FARC.[1]
Catatumbo took command of several FARC-EP fronts in Chocó and Valle del Cauca in the 1990s, after which they grew in size and became strong enough to fight the paramilitary group AUC in the region.[2]
The United States government accuses Torres-Victoria of arranging cocaine distribution routes, participating in setting and implementing the FARC’s cocaine policies, directing and controlling the production, manufacture, and distribution of hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States and Europe; the "taxation" of the drug trade in Colombia to raise funds for the FARC; and the murder of hundreds of people who violated or interfered with the FARC’s cocaine policies. The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward up to US$2.5 million for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.[3]
Life at war
In 1967 he became a member of the Communist Party, and in 1968 he became a member of the Colombian Communist Youth Juventud Comunista Colombiana.
The Colombian Communist Youth organization invited him to take part in a course located in the outskirts of Moscow in a Soviet Union institute dedicated to the teaching of Marxist–Leninist ideology. The Colombian delegation included Guillermo León Saénz, alias Alfonso Cano, and Leonardo Posada.
His first action was seen in 1973 during the taking of Colombia (Huila). [4]
In 1976 he was named head of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 26th Front and in 1979 he became the leader of the 6th Front.
He was a spokesman during the 1992 peace talks in Tlaxcala, Mexico. In that same year he became a member of the State General Staff of the FARC.
His sister Janeth Torres Victoria became an admirer of the paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño, who was later assassinated in Cordoba.
He is the spokesman for the FARC in their peace negotiations with the Colombian government in Havana, Cuba.
References
- ↑ "Las FARC reestructuran su cúpula". El Comercio (in Spanish). El Comercio. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
- ↑ "Bloque Pacífico – Frente Héroes del Chocó". verdadabierta.com. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
- ↑ "Jorge Torres Victoria". Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs-Narcotics Rewards Program. U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on December 13, 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
- ↑ "Con Pablo Catatumbo en La Habana (I): “El peor error de Santos fue matar a Alfonso Cano” - Las2orillas". las2orillas.co. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2017.