By Patrick Markey
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's military said on Saturday troops had killed a top rebel commander in an attack on a jungle camp across the border in Ecuador in a severe blow to Latin America's oldest guerrilla insurgency.
Raul Reyes, one of seven members of the secretariat of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was killed in an operation that included an air strike on a camp and fighting with rebels across the border, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said.
Reyes was considered by analysts to be the No. 2 FARC commander and is the most senior member of the group to be killed in President Alvaro Uribe's U.S.-backed campaign against the guerrillas fighting a four-decade-old conflict.
"As a result of this operation, 17 guerrillas were killed. Among them was FARC secretariat member Luis Edgar Devia Silva, better known as Raul Reyes," Santos told reporters.
Colombia's El Tiempo newspaper published on its Web site a photograph of what it said was Reyes' bloodied corpse in a stained white shirt lying on a black body bag.
Santos said intelligence had revealed Reyes' movements near the border. After an air strike by the Colombian military, Colombian troops came under fire from guerrillas in Ecuadorean territory and they responded. Reyes' body was brought back into Colombia to prevent rebels taking it away, he said.
Uribe contacted Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa to inform him of the operation and Quito sent troops to investigate. Venezuela and Ecuador often complain about the guerrilla war spilling over their borders.
Violence from Colombia's conflict has ebbed under Uribe, who has sent troops to retake regions under the control of armed groups. But the FARC is still potent in remote areas, where it holds scores of hostages, including three Americans and French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made freeing Betancourt a priority, urged all sides not to let the killing upset recent efforts to broker a deal to exchange jailed guerrillas for FARC hostages held for years in jungle camps.
SHIFT IN SECRETARIAT
Reyes, bespectacled and bearded, was one of the FARC's top political officers and the group's official spokesman who often sent statements from the mountains of Colombia. He was known for his tough stance in past negotiations with the government.
A diminutive former union boss, Reyes joined the FARC in the 1970s and was a close associate of aging FARC leader Pedro Antonio Marin, also known as "Manuel Marulanda" or "Sureshot." He was involved with Marin's daughter.
"This ends the myth of FARC invulnerability and could cause serious doubts among its troops," said Alfredo Rangel, an analyst at Security and Democracy Foundation in Bogota.
"It could produce a shift in the secretariat in favor of more pragmatic and flexible positions in terms of the humanitarian exchange and peace negotiations given that Reyes always maintained a hard line," he said.
The operation against Reyes follows several military successes against the FARC.
In October, Colombian troops backed by warplanes killed FARC commander Gustavo Rueda Diaz at a base near the Caribbean coast. A month earlier, they killed Tomas Medina, a senior rebel involved in arms and drug smuggling near Venezuela.
The FARC started as a peasant army fighting for a socialist state in the 1960s. Authorities say it is now deeply engaged in cocaine trafficking to fund its operations.
(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Raúl Reyes

Raúl Reyes, senior guerrilla commander and international spokesman of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), has been killed by Colombian security forces in the southern province of Putumayo, the government said Saturday. 

Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos confirmed his death in a press conference. He said that 16 other FARC rebels and one Colombian soldier were killed in the skirmish, which took place in a rebel stronghold near the border with Ecuador.

"It is the hardest blow to FARC in all of its history", Santos said. Colombian security analyst Alfredo Rangel added, "This could hit morale of the FARC because the myth of the invulnerability of the bosses is over."

The military was able to locate the rebels by intercepting one of their satellite communications, he said. After launching an air strike on the rebel base, the Colombian military came under fire from the guerrilas. The military fired back, killing Reyes while in Ecuadorian territory. The bodies of the dead were then taken to Colombia.

"Once the camp was bombarded, Colombian forces were ordered in to secure the area and neutralize the enemy. The police was also asked to keep it secure until Ecuadoran authorities arrived," Santos said.

Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, who was monitoring the operation, contacted Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa to inform him of the incident. "It appears the FARC entered Ecuadorean territory," Correa said. "The incident must be clarified a bit." Correa said he will send troops to the area for an investigation.

According to the Associated Press, Reyes, whose real name was Luis Edgar Devia Silva, was considered a contender for becoming leader of FARC. Their current leader, Manuel Marulanda, is believed to be in poor health.

Also killed in the fighting was Guillermo Enrique Torres, known by the alias of "Julián Conrado". He was a senior member of FARC who composed and performed revolutionary songs. 

FARC is considered a terrorist organization by Colombia, the United States, and the European Union. The group has been accused of drug trafficking, extortion, and kidnapping, among other illegal activities. The U.S. Department of State had offered a US$5 million bounty for information leading to the arrest of Reyes, as well as the other 6 members of the FARC's highest governing body.