The remaining leaders of Colombia’s Farc may put a brave face on it but Latin America’s oldest active leftwing guerrilla movement is on the ropes. The death, confirmed last month, of its legendary 78-year-old leader, Manuel Marulanda – better known by his nickname Tirofijo or Sureshot – was the latest in a succession of recent blows that have left the Farc weakened, isolated and increasingly fragmented.

Colombia’s government is right to step up its fierce military offensive, arguing, probably justifiably, that the organisation, long financed by the drugs trade, may begin to break up under sustained pressure.