Will Colombian rebels heed a call from ally Hugo Chavez to disarm?

The bearded Marxist intellectual who has just taken command of Latin America's last major guerrilla army has been put on the spot by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is calling on him to abandon armed struggle. Alfonso Cano and his lieutenants, the objects of an intense manhunt by Colombia's U.S.-supported military, are believed isolated in jungle and mountain hideaways, their hunkered-down forces holding scores of hostages as human shields. There was no question of their allegiance to the legendary Manuel 'Sureshot' Marulanda, a septuagenarian who died of a heart attack in late March. But it is unclear how far other rebel commanders will follow Cano, a bespectacled former anthropology student and Communist Youth activist whose ascendance was announced last month. Chavez, the main foreign backer of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, urged Cano and his fighters during his weekly television and radio program Sunday to free all their hostages unconditionally and give up their arms.