Missing Governor Found Dead in Colombia

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has reiterated his country's determination to defeat terrorism, after a provincial governor was kidnapped and killed by suspected leftist rebels.

President Uribe spoke to the nation late Tuesday, and announced that the governor of Caqueta state, Luis Francisco Cuellar, was found with his throat slit. Officials are offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to the killers.

Cuellar, who had been kidnapped four other times over the years, was abducted from his home Monday. The kidnappers used explosives in the raid and killed one police officer.

Authorities say Cuellar's body, which was surrounded by explosives, was discovered Tuesday near Caqueta's capital, Florencia. Investigators believe rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, were responsible.

President Uribe told reporters Colombia cannot continue to submit to the whims of terrorists.

Caqueta province in southern Colombia is a remote region where the rebels maintain a strong presence.

The FARC has been waging an insurgency against the government for four-and-a-half decades, but its ranks have been decimated in recent years by an ongoing offensive by the Colombian military.

The FARC is holding hundreds of people in secret jungle camps for ransom or political leverage, including about 24 police officers and soldiers.





Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.