Starting with an analysis of the importance of borders and the circumstances that lead to their transformation into strategic sanctuaries, and the death of FARC guerrilla leader Raúl Reyes on March 1, 2008, Eduardo Pizarro provides the context and takes the reader through the history of one of the most significant military operations in Colombia's recent history: Operation Fénix. Far from remaining in the anecdotal or in the details of decision making, Pizarro offers explanations, examples, similarities, reflections and facts that highlight the importance and complexity of the borders in the midst of the country's conflict, and of this episode that was decisive for the so-called strategic defeat of the FARC.