Caqueta state Gov. Luis Francisco Cuellar was found dead Tuesday, Colombian authorities said, less than a day after he was abducted from his home by suspected leftist guerrillas.
Cuellar's body was found near Florencia, the state capital where he lived, authorities said.
President Alvaro Uribe later said on national television that Cuellar's throat had been cut as the assailants fled from security forces. His body was found by a rural road, said Uribe, who promised to press the fight against rebel violence.
"In the midst of pain we reiterate today all our determination to defeat these terrorists," he said.
After learning that Cuellar had been abducted from his home late Monday, Uribe ordered Colombian armed forces Tuesday to search the jungles of Caqueta for the governor.
The kidnapping was the first in several years of a politician of Cuellar's stature. His abduction and slaying present a challenge to Uribe's get-tough campaign against the rebels, which has produced dramatic declines in violence and kidnappings since he took office in 2002.
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