The blood of Marulanda will seed the revolution. FARC confirms his death

"It was also the case with our martyred leader Abbas el Moussawi. They killed him and they thought that the Resistance would collapse because of it� Instead it grew, drawing an increasingly steeper chart� and a few years later, Israel left defeated and humiliated in 2000 because of his blood, and because of the Resistance that carried Abbas al Moussawi�s name and banner� not because of international resolutions or the international community."

- Al-Sayyed Nasrallah's speech on
the death of Imad al Mughneyeh

Manuel Marulanda died
at 78 years of age

Manuel Marulanda led FARC since it's beginning in 1964. He was born to a peasant family in 1930 in a coffee growing region of west central Colombia. His birth name was Pedro Antonio Mar�n Carre�o but he later took on the name of Manuel Marulanda in honor of a murdered union leader. His family was aligned politically with the Liberal Party in the late '40s and early '50s until Liberal Party leader, Jorge Eli�cer Gait�n was murdered in 1948 during his campaign for the presidency of Colombia. His campaign was on the road to success and it was widely believed that he would have been the next president of Colombia. The Colombian government of Mariano Ospina P�rez and the CIA were implicated in the assassination. Juan Roa Sierra killed Gait�n, reportedly under the orders of CIA agents John Mepples Espirito (alias Georgio Ricco) and Tom�s Elliot, as part of an anti-leftist plan supposedly called Operation Pantomime.

The assassination led to a peasant rebelion in which Manuel Marulanda, some family members and 48 farmers built a communist army in Colombia to 15,000 strong to oppose the government in Bogot� and to support Colombia's poor and disenfranchised. The civil war in Colombia raged on through the decades and despite a few FARC leaders the government has murdered over the years, FARC shows no signs of weakening. This is not the story that is being told by the international capitalist press. Since the Bush/Uribe government killed FARC's number 2 leader, Ra�l Reyes in their illegal invasion of Ecuador last month, the corporate media has been repeating Uribe's claims that FARC is demoralized and on its last legs.

The U.S. and Colombian governments have maligned Marulanda and FARC over the years, labeling them as drug runners, kidnappers and killers and the Bush regime promised to pay $5 million for his murder. In the past year, declassified CIA documents have revealed that Alvaro Uribe, president of Colombia, his family members and members of his administration are the ones who have been involved in right-wing death squads and massive, illegal cocaine trafficking.

Manuel Marulanda was a wise and reclusive leader who, it is said, never set foot in the capital city of Bogot�. He led a peoples' movement that neither Uribe nor any other US-backed Colombian regime has been able to put down. Marulanda was known as an excellent military strategist in warfare and a serene man, at peace with himself and the thousands who served under him. He was also a man beloved by the Colombian people and those who fought with him through the decades in the jungles of Colombia. His legacy is a growing movement that will eventually bring peace to Colombia and Colombia into the integration of Latin American States. His death was announced today by FARC leaders who appeared on Venezuelan television. Just as the murder of Jorge Eli�cer Gait�n, 60 years ago gave rise to the FARC. The blood of Manuel Marulanda will seed the revolution.

(Also, see the Prensa Latina news bulletin below)

BIO AND ADDITIONAL ESSAYS BY LES BLOUGH

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May 25, 2008
Prensa Latina

FARC Confirms Marulanda's Death

Manuel Marulanda,
historical leader of the FARC
Caracas, May 25 (Prensa Latina) The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) confirmed on Sunday the death of its historical leader Manuel Marulanda, but warned the guerrilla movement will continue its struggle for social justice.

In a communiqu� read by FARC senior commander Timoleon Jimenez, and released by the Telesur network, the rebel group said their new top leader will be Alfonso Cano, while insurgent leader Pablo Catatumbo will join the FARC's secretariat.

The text added that the group will continue their struggle, always committed to progressive social forces and closely linked to the people's demands.

Political solutions to the conflict remain valid and we will maintain our efforts to achieve a democratic peace in Colombia, stressed Jimenez.

On the 44th anniversary of the foundation of FARC, we remember all guerrilla leaders who devoted their lives to the causes of the poor, mainly our commander Marulanda, who always demonstrated a firm conviction and revolutionary commitment, the text said.

The FARC's top leader, whose true name was Pedro Antonio Marin, died of a heart attack on March 26, the note said.

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