BOGOTA, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Colombian authorities said they have killed Jose Daniel "One-eyed Lucho" Perez, a senior member of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, rebel group.
Officials said Perez, 42, died during a gunbattle between ELN rebels and Colombian security forces on Monday. He is accused of leading an ELN ambush against security forces who were escorting election officials in late October.
The assault led to the deaths of 11 soldiers and one police officer. Two other soldiers were kidnapped and held for three weeks before they were released unharmed.
Perez was an ELN member for about 25 years. The ELN is estimated to have about 2,000 active fighters and finances its operation through extortion, drug trafficking and ransom payments stemming from kidnappings.
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"Our military and police inflict a heavy blow against the ELN. They neutralized alias One-eyed Lucho and weakened the [rebels'] eastern front," Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter.
The ELN is attempting to enter peace negotiations with the Colombian government to reach a deal similar to that between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also known as the FARC.
In September, Colombia and the FARC, agreed to a peace deal deadline -- setting up the possibility of ending the longest-running armed conflict in the South American continent.
More than 220,000 people have died and 5 million have been internally displaced due to the Colombian conflict since the FARC's founding in 1964. The militant rebel group has been involved in drug-trafficking, kidnapping and other illicit activity to fund its insurgency campaign.
