Rebel Leader Killed in Colombia

Guerrilla leader Sixto Cabana was among 27 rebels killed in a raid on a camp near the Ecuadoran border, Colombian officials announced. Cabana, who had been a member of the FARC rebel group for over 25 years, was a senior commander in the organization and was wanted in the US on drug trafficking charges, the BBC reports. Colombia's defense minister described the raid as the heaviest blow to the rebel group in years.

Cabana "controlled the production and export of hundreds of tons of cocaine to the US and the world," and was "responsible for the murder of hundreds of people who violated or interfered with the FARC's cocaine policies," said a statement from the US State Department. Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos, who took office last month, has promised to continue his predecessor's hardline policy against the rebels. (More Colombian rebels stories.)