Colombia governor's murder draws wide condemnation

BOGOTA (Reuters) - The international community on Wednesday condemned the murder of a Colombian governor in a high-profile abduction that President Alvaro Uribe blamed on rebels who are resisting his US-backed army offensive.
In the biggest political kidnapping since the conservative Uribe came to power in 2002, Caqueta state Governor Luis Cuellar was snatched from his home by armed guerrillas on Monday in a surprise night-time raid.
The politician was found hours later with his throat slashed, authorities said, as government troops pursued the FARC commando group believed responsible for the abduction into the remote jungles in southern Colombia.
The FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has yet to release a statement on the kidnapping.
The rebel assault and the way he was killed shocked Colombians and brought back memories of the bloodier days of the long conflict when guerrilla bombings, kidnappings and massacres made daily headlines.
The kidnapping has also raised questions over the direction of Uribe’s war against the leftist guerrillas and cocaine traffickers after his military received billions in US aid to finally stamp out Latin America’s oldest surviving insurgency.
“An absurd sacrifice requires a drastic condemnation,” El Tiempo, a leading daily newspaper, said in an editorial. “It ratifies the level of degradation in the ranks of the insurgency.”
Amnesty International, the United Nations and the European Union all condemned the “brutal” killing.
The kidnappers dressed in military uniforms blasted open the door of Cuellar’s home, killed a police guard and dragged the governor into a waiting jeep. His body was found less than 24 hours later near the abandoned and burned-out vehicle.
“He had his throat cut, they slaughtered him miserably,” Uribe said during a late Tuesday night broadcast.
A staunch Washington ally, Uribe has used billions of dollars in US military aid to send troops out to retake areas once controlled by illegal armed groups. Violence has ebbed as the FARC was driven back into the remote jungles.