Report: Colombian rebel leader dead

BOGOTA, May 24 (UPI) -- Colombian officials were attempting to confirm leftist rebel leader Manuel Marulanda died two months ago, a Cabinet minister said Saturday.

An unconfirmed intelligence report purported that Marulanda, thought to be 76, died March 26 of natural causes, The New York Times reported. Marulanda was the head of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has been battling government forces for more than four decades.

Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos told Semana, a Colombian news magazine, the rebel leader had succumbed to heart failure, the Times reported. Santos noted, however, three bombing raids were conducted about that time in the region where Marulanda was thought to be.

"He must be in hell," Santos was quoted as saying about Marulanda.