Development: On 30 April the so-called 'Frente Oliver Sinisterra' (FOS), led by ‘Guacho’ (Walter Patricio Artízala), called for the creation of a humanitarian corridor on the border between Colombia and Ecuador in order to return the bodies of the three murdered employees of the Quito daily El Comercio, as well as two further Ecuadoreans it is holding hostage.
Significance: The statement issued by the FOS shows that the dissident group of guerrillas from the demobilised Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) has no intention of surrendering to the authorities. Its release comes shortly after the expiry of a 10-day ultimatum issued by Ecuador’s President Lenín Moreno for Guacho to turn himself in, release the group’s two hostages, and hand over the bodies of the kidnapped and murdered El Comercio employees.
- In the statement, the FOS claims that the two Ecuadoreans it is holding – Vanesa Velasco Pinargote and Oscar Efrén Villacís Gómez – are members of their country’s intelligence services. They were taken hostage by the group just days after it was confirmed that the three El Comercio employees had been murdered.
- The FOS used the statement to demand the release of “guerrillas, militia members, and civilians arrested in Ecuador and Colombia”. It also contained a threat. “If there is no ceasefire [humanitarian corridor], you will keep compromising [the safety] of Ecuadorean citizens”, the statement read.
- Ecuador’s interior ministry told journalists in response to the FOS statement that the document was “being analysed to verify its authenticity”. Both the interior and defence ministries are in different hands after President Moreno accepted the resignations of their respective chiefs, César Navas and Patricio Zambrano, last week for failing to make any progress against the FOS. Moreno appointed Mauro Toscanini as interior minister and Oswaldo Jarrín as defence minister, with the brief of improving border security.
Looking ahead: The statement released by the FOS shows that Guacho is clearly un-cowed by the hard line being taken by President Moreno, and perhaps feels he can exploit tensions between his administration and that of Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos.
