Another FARC leader down, survivors confirm they were attacked as they slept

Caracas Daily Journal (Vincent Bevins): The Colombian military killed yet another of the members of the Secretariat this week, Iván Ros, who had served on the negotiating team in 1999-2002. Before March, Colombia had never been able to get any of the members of the 7-strong inner circle. He was killed in a military operation in Colombia, about 400 kilometers west of Bogotá. "We can confirm that Iván Ros died in the operation," said an anonymous government source.

Rios, who was in the seminary in his youth, was considered one of the leaders closest to the founder and leader of the FARC, Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda. He joined the Secretariat in 2003, replacing Efrain Guzmán, who died of sickness. At 40 years old, he was the youngest member of the Secretariat.

Along with the death of Raul Reyes, this is another serious blow to the FARC, and illustrates the combined military intelligence capabilities of Colombia and the United States.

The FARC has made no comment confirming or denying the death so far. Last time, they chose to re-affirm their commitment to a peace process while lamenting that the loss would make it more difficult.

The mother of Ingrid Betancourt, the most famous of the hostages who may be close to death, has continued her rejection of Uribe's strategy in Colombia saying she has support in Venezuela, but not Colombia. "I have support here, but it is a disgrace that I do not have it in Colombia." She sent a message of "strength, so that she remain standing and fighting for her liberation soon," to her daughter.

• Testimony from recently liberated Colombian ex-congresspersons indicated that Betancourt was in very poor health, perhaps close to death.

Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa has said Uribe's attack on Reyes came because he knew that The FARC was close to handing Betancourt over to him. France confirmed they knew of this process, and that the FARC had expressed a desire to hand her over. Interviews with two of the three recovering survivors of the double-bombardment on Colombian soil confirm Correa's statements that the rebels were killed in their sleep.

Lucia Morett Alvarez, said, "I was sleeping, and all of a sudden, what woke me up was a bombing, a lot of bombs. You could hear planes and helicopters that started to drop bombs towards where we were and you could smell the burning." She said she couldn't move, because she realized she was injured.

According to the press, she is 27 years old, Mexican, and graduated in philosophy from the UNAM in Mexico City. Her family claims she is not a guerrilla, but rather an "activist." She participated in a Bolivarian Congress in Quito days before being attacked.

Ecuadorian authorities have announced there is reason to believe that most of the victims of the attack were Mexican.