FARC in negotiations to demilitarize

In the wake of the amazing rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages in Colombia, CFP can reveal that French and Venezuelan diplomats have opened secret negotiations to offer sanctuary to the 8,000 remaining members of the FARC guerrilla army. US intelligence sources said yesterday that the move may be the first realistic chance of ending Latin America’s longest running and most destructive civil war. If the negotiations succeed to demilitarize FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) they could have enormous international implications and lead to the speedy release of the remaining 700 hostages – most of them ordinary Colombian citizens – now held in wild jungle camps by FARC. It will also deal a heavy blow to Colombian narcotics dealers who supply most of the cocaine entering North America. And it could lead to an increased American presence in Columbia including the establishment there of a US military base. FARC has been left totally dispirited by the loss of Ms Bettencourt and the three Americans held with her and now has much reduced bargaining power to free the hundreds of its former members currently held in Colombian prisons.