It is not common to see someone celebrate a man’s death, but in Colombia, virtually the entire country was ecstatic about the news that the man considered the mastermind behind the most heinous crimes committed by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) was killed in a military operation.
His real name was Victor Julio Suarez Rojas, but he went by the name Jorge Briceno Suarez and by his alias, “El Mono Jojoy”: “Mono” because that is what blonds are called in Colombia, and “Jojoy,” according to some sources, is either because of his peculiar way of laughing or because he resembled a jungle worm known to disappear quickly.
But what he is mostly known as is the bloodiest, most radical member of the FARC’s secretariat. Here’s what his resume could look like: Military strategist of the FARC, responsible for ordering kidnappings, assassinations, massacres and bombings. Creator of jungle “concentration camps” for kidnapped politicians, police officers and military personnel. Founder of a child-recruitment program for the insurgency.
What he might have left out of his resume is attacks such as the assault on two Colombian military installations that, combined, left 54 officers dead, and the car bombing of a nightclub that killed 36 civilians and wounded 200. Or the fact that he was responsible for the kidnapping of former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Or maybe the warnings to minors that if they did not join the ranks of the FARC, they would pay with their lives and in some instances with their families. It also wouldn’t look great on his resume that he had at least 62 warrants for his arrest and two requests for his extradition.
It could be said that he was born to be wild. El Mono Jojoy’s entire life revolved around the FARC. His father was a rebel, his mother cooked meals for the insurgents, his brother was a member of the guerrilla group, and as a child he ran errands for commanders. He officially joined the group in 1975 and quickly went up the ranks to become the military leader.
After years of trying to track him down, the Colombian armed forces finally caught up with him. He was killed during a massive air raid on the FARC’s headquarters that included 30 fighter planes and 27 helicopters. It was first reported that his location was detected through a GPS device placed in a pair of special boots for diabetics that he had ordered from the U.S. Although it sounds like a move worthy of a spy novel, it was denied by the head of the armed forces. Adm. Edgar Cely said it was the result of a military-intelligence operation in which a police sergeant who infiltrated the inner circle of the rebel group two years prior played an important role.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos got bragging rights on the operation, which went down while he attended the United Nations general assembly in New York. He announced what he considered the “beginning of the end of the FARC.” It is the biggest blow to the rebel organization, which already has lost most of its top leaders, but none is more feared than El Mono Jojoy. The material seized after the raid on the headquarters has provided valuable information that, according to the Colombian government, will help it bring more than four decades of bloodshed to an end.
As to be expected, the rebel organization was not celebrating, although some believe there might have been a few who are relieved to see their commander gone, as he was known to have killed combatants who defied his orders. In a press release the FARC claimed: “The only road to the armed and social conflict is a political and peaceful solution. We are and will be a determining factor. All other strategies only contribute to prolonging the spiral of war.” As did his predecessor, President Santos has vowed not to negotiate with terrorists. Until they give up the violence and release the political prisoners they are holding in captivity in the jungle, he says, there will be no peace. In the meantime, Colombians continue to celebrate the death of the baddest of the bad.
