Colombian troops said to have killed seven FARC rebels

Seven or more guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were reported killed on 4 December in a gun fight in eastern Colombia, as troops closed in to arrest a prominent FARC chieftain dubbed Jhon 40. The guerrilla, whose name is Géner García Molina, was considered one of the FARC's main drug traffickers and a suspected contact of Mexican drug cartels, though it was not clear if he was killed; army sources had not yet confirmed the operation in the department of Guainía near the borders with Venezuela and Brazil, EFE reported. The seven killed were apparently members of his escort, the daily El Tiempo reported, citing unnamed sources. Colombian and FARC negotiators were separately scheduled to renew peace talks on 5 December in Havana.