Colombian governor found with slashed throat

The kidnapped governor of a southern Colombian province has been found dead, hours after a massive military operation was launched to rescue him.

Luis Francisco Cuellar was seized from his house by about 10 gunmen in the capital of the Caqueta province on Monday.

One policeman was killed in the attack and two more wounded.

His body was discovered soon after, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) south of the provincial capital Florencia, with a slashed throat.

"The cowards slit his throat," President Alvaro Uribe said in a nationally broadcast speech.

Cuellar was the most high profile politician abducted and murdered since Uribe came to power in 2002, promising a "safe democracy" and a heavy military crackdown on armed rebel groups.

Hours before the governor's body was found, the president had deployed more than 2,000 military personnel to find the official, stressing that every effort would be made to secure his release.

Cuellar, who turned 69 on Tuesday, had already been kidnapped four times in the past 23 years before he became governor, the Associated Press news agency said.

Authorities believe that the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas have committed the act.

However, the notorious group has not yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

FARC, Latin America's oldest and longest-fighting rebel force, currently holds hundreds of hostages, including soldiers and local officials.

Uribe has rejected a political dialogue with the group, which is seeking a prisoner swap with the government to exchange its hostages for 500 FARC rebels in government jails.

Last year, some of FARC's most high-profile hostages, including French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans, were rescued from their jungle confinement.