Alias ​​Martín Sombra, the jailer of the defunct FARC, has died in Bogotá: What caused his death?

In recent hours, news broke of the death of alias Martín Sombra, the so-called jailer of the defunct FARC. He died at El Tunal Hospital in Bogotá.

EL TIEMPO learned unofficially that alias Martín Sombra died from a multisystem failure, which was caused, among other things, by diabetes, which progressively deteriorated his condition over several years.

According to information obtained by this newspaper, Elí Mejía Mendoza received medical care in several hospitals during his illness. As is the case with many patients in this condition, the multisystem failure led to a generalized collapse.

Elí Mendoza joined the FARC in 1996 as a low-ranking guerrilla in the 4th Front in Magdalena Medio. His rise to command came after the secretariat tasked him with creating the Ciro Trujillo bloc in Casanare, where he established a practice of extortionate kidnapping and "swapping"—exchanging kidnapped individuals for imprisoned guerrillas—which was replicated in other structures.

Martín Sombra's main crimes were committed in Meta, where he led takeovers of the Girasol military base, in La Macarena, and in Puerto Rico in 1991. Eight years later, in that municipality, he led another takeover in which five soldiers were killed, 28 police officers kidnapped, and 53 families displaced.

Kidnapping was precisely one of the crimes most associated with 'Martín Sombra' and for which he earned the alias 'Jailer of the FARC'.

The former guerrilla founded a camp called "Cárcel Segura" in the Llanos del Yarí, where he was tasked with guarding the kidnapping of police and military personnel.

He was identified as one of those responsible for monitoring Ingrid Betancourt and Clara Rojas during their kidnapping in 2002. His time in court left many pending issues, and his testimony before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) was harshly questioned by victims and human rights organizations.

WITH INFORMATION FROM JUSTICE