The Guardian Editorial: A handbrake turn

Not for the first time in his nine years of office, Hugo Chávez has given viewers of his weekly live TV show, Aló Presidente, a surprise. He said that the group which has led Latin America's longest-running insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), should unconditionally release more than 700 hostages. Only months ago he pressed for diplomatic recognition of the Marxist group. Now he called on Farc's leader Alfonso Cano to lay down arms after four decades: 'The guerrilla war is history.' You could have heard the sound of jaws dropping from Bogotá to Washington. Quite why the most prominent supporter of Colombia's largest rebel group performed this U-turn is unclear. It could be for pragmatic reasons. His comments came a day after Colombia announced the capture of two Venezuelans, one a national guard officer, with 40,000 rifle rounds allegedly intended for the Farc. Ever since laptops containing 16,000 files were seized in a raid on a Farc camp in Ecuador, Mr Chávez has battled accusations that high-ranking Venezuelans helped Farc obtain weapons and funding. Turning the tables on Farc could be a way of avoiding being implicated by Colombia in a venue like the Organisation of American States.