Bogota - The Colombian government has located the leader of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), known by the alias "Manuel Marulanda" or "Tirofijo," an official said Wednesday. "The government knows the area where 'Tirofijo' is, but it is better not to say it. When we get him, we will get him by surprise," Colombian Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos told Colombian radio station RCN.
The minister said arresting the elderly guerrilla leader is no easy task and is "like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"These people move on roads they have built themselves over the past 40 years," he said.
Santos said arresting the FARC leadership has added difficulty because some of them hide in areas on the border with Ecuador and Venezuela.
Ecuadorian authorities recently announced the destruction of a camp, where FARC boss 'Raul Reyes' was a few weeks ago, he said.
Santos said the Colombian military is getting closer to FARC everyday, thanks to infiltrations into the rebel group.
"We have many more people infiltrated than (the rebels) imagine, and that is why bosses are starting to fall. They were men with a direct command of the organization," he explained.
He said control and communication among guerrilla leaders is lessening, noting the mistake made by FARC in announcing the release of Emmanuel, the 3-year-old son of former hostage Clara Rojas, conceived and born during her captivity, when he had actually been in state custody for over two years.
"We have been fighting these people for 40 years, and reversing that cannot happen from one day to the next, but we are on the right track," Santos stressed.
