As for the death of Santrich, although there are many things to be clarified, we have just learned that he has been murdered in the Perijá range, on the border between Colombia and Venezuela. According to information provided by the Colombian intelligence services, Santrich has died in Venezuela as a result of "an armed incident". On the contrary, other sources have indicated that Santrich has been killed by the Venezuelan Army because of the plague of Colombia’s intelligence and secret services. However, by the mouth of his colleagues, it has been known that the Pharian leader has been murdered by a special command from Colombia that invaded Venezuela from Colombia. As a curiosity, the murderers have cut a tip of Santrich’s finger – always according to the FARC’s Second Marquetalía account –. If so, Colombian paramilitarism and Daesh are not so different.

The Perijá Cordillera is a binational region, with undefined and historically undefined borders, with a large presence of guerrillas - FARC and ELN - on both sides of that fictitious border. Knowing this, apart from dismantling the theory that the Venezuelan Army “protects terrorists” – as the main Colombian media say – it can be said that the alleged operation of hired mercenaries of the Colombian army in Venezuela is illegal. Against this backdrop, once again, the complicit silence of the international community has prevailed.

Guerrillero and pacifist

“If you want peace, get ready for war” (if vis pacem parabellum) can explain who Jesus Santrich has been. He went from guerrilla warfare to a peaceful one before resuming the armed struggle. In Norway, Oslo, the road to peace began and the long negotiating process continued in Havana, culminating in the annexation of Gernika. Santrich was five years in the Cuban capital, a city totally in love, and from his hand came the historic signing of peace. The Santrich team, which did not receive the Nobel Prize, reaffirmed its commitment to the struggle for peace, convinced that peace was worth it.

During the negotiation, Jesús Santrich made himself known in a special way, leaving some memorable and controversial moments, among them when, shortly after the start of the peace negotiation, the TVE envoy asked him about the possibility of asking the victims for forgiveness. Santrich, in humor, answered “perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps” singing. Although the victims described this response as an offense, the answer itself reflects well the political nature of Santrich, a person with the ability to turn a focus from irony: “Have we not started to negotiate and you already asked me?” the guerrillas thought.

Once peace was achieved, Santrich became the goal of 'false peace'. First, he was imprisoned for a year under the threat of being extradited to the United States. That was where peace suffered the first blow. Then there was the flight; the blind guerrilla, with a loss of vision of great magnitude, crossed half of Colombia to reach Perijà through the mountains. Along the way, besides having the help of many people, he had many adventures and curiosities such as the casual encounter with the guerrillas of the ELN. The Elenes, seeing that he was Santrich, hugged and welcomed. Santrich was a simple, close, humble and hardworking guerrilla. A loved, esteemed and respected person. In the world of revolutionaries and taking the words of Bertold Brecht: “Someone indispensable.”

And I met that Santrich; on the mountain, with his kalashnikova, even though his weapons are others: irony, singing, paintings, music and poetry. In poetry, for example, I have known that in recent weeks he rewrote the book Poetry for Euskal Herria, which once extended to all fronts of the Caribbean Block of the FARC. You can say that Santrich has been a vivid representation of the romantic guerrilla, one of the great revolutionaries of the 21st century. And, unfortunately, Santrich is also a reflection of the failure of a peace process.