Second Colombian rebel leader killed

CUCUTA, Colombia (CNN) -- As South American officials tried to ease tensions sparked by Colombia's killing of a rebel leader inside Ecuador, the Colombian army announced the death of another top militant Friday.

Ivan Rios, whose real name was Manuel de Jesus Munoz, was one of six remaining members of the leadership council of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"The FARC has suffered a new, major blow," Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said, according to The Associated Press.

Rios was killed by his own chief of security, who offered items including the rebel leader's severed right hand as proof of his death, the AP quoted Santos as saying.

On Saturday, Luis Edgar Devia Silva, known as Raul Reyes, was killed in a raid into Ecuador.

He was FARC's second-in-command -- and the first member of the leftist rebel group's general secretariat killed by Colombia in the 40 years that it has been fighting to overthrow the Colombian government.

Twenty-one other people were also killed in the attack.

The raid sparked protests from the left-leaning leaders of Ecuador, Venezuela and Nicaragua, all of whom cut diplomatic ties with Colombia, and Ecuador and Venezuela moved troops to their borders with Colombia. See a map of the region »

Colombian officials apologized for taking their attack against FARC into Ecuador, but Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa has said that the apology wasn't enough and protested to the Organization of American States this week.

On Wednesday, the OAS ordered a commission to investigate Colombia's attack. See a timeline of the tensions »

The commission plans to visit Colombia and Ecuador and "propose formulas for bringing the two nations closer together."

The organization also adopted a statement referring to the Colombian attack as "a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ecuador and of principles of international law."

Correa, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez joined other Latin American leaders at a scheduled meeting of the Rio Group in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where they hoped to find a way to defuse the crisis.

But the early deliberations were contentious, with Correa accusing Uribe of "insolence" and Uribe labeling Correa a communist.

Uribe also accused Venezuelan troops of crossing into Colombia and firing shots before returning to their own side of the border. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Karl Penhaul and Rick Sanchez contributed to this report.

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