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Bogota: Most Colombians can't remember a time when the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were not a major force to be reckoned with.
But the death of the FARC's founding leader Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda left many wondering whether the 44-year-old insurgency might now change course and possibly be more willing to accept government conditions for a prisoner swap.
"The end of the FARC is in sight," Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos told reporters Sunday after a senior rebel confirmed that Marulanda died March 26 of a heart attack.
Santos quickly added: "We are winning but we haven't yet won."
He and other Colombian leaders appealed to the rebels put down their weapons and talk peace.
But the FARC, which Colombia's military says has some 9,000 fighters, was defiant.
"We will continue our work," rebel commander Timoleon Jimenez, alias Timochenko, said in a video message.
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