South America
Ecuador captures FARC rebel wanted by U.S
By Reuters
Mar 11, 2009, 19:49

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean police have captured a Colombian FARC guerrilla commander wanted by Washington on charges he helped run rebel cocaine smuggling operations, authorities said on Wednesday.

The capture of Sixto Antonio Cabana is Ecuador's first major arrest of a FARC guerrilla since it broke ties with Bogota a year ago over a raid by Colombian commandos to kill a top rebel boss hiding inside Ecuadorean territory.

Ecuador police chief Jaime Hurtado said authorities arrested Cabana, also known as "Domingo Bioho," in a remote town near the Colombian border.

Hurtado did not say if Cabana would be extradited to Colombia or the United States, which has offered a $2.5 million reward for his arrest.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, whose U.S.-backed military offensive has weakened Latin America's oldest insurgency, recently asked neighboring countries to do more to counter rebels hiding inside their territory.

The deaths of three top FARC leaders last year, increasing desertions and military setbacks have driven the guerrillas deeper into Colombia's remote jungles near its border with Ecuador and Venezuela.

Ecuador has rejected Colombia's attempts to mend ties, but has increased security in its northern border to counter growing violence from rebel and paramilitary groups that battle for cocaine-smuggling routes. Neighboring the world's top cocaine producer, Ecuador is a key trafficking route.

The FARC -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- has fought the state for more than four decades, helped by finances gained from extortion, kidnapping and trade in the country's huge cocaine business.

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