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Caribbean-Latin America
Colombia Accuses FARC of Plot to Kill ex-President Uribe
2013-11-13
[An Nahar] Colombia accused the leftist FARC guerrilla group Tuesday of plotting to kill former president Alvaro Uribe, a vehement critic of peace talks with the rebels.

The accusation comes as the present Colombian government is engaged in delicate peace talks with the rebels, and it was not immediately clear what effect it would have on negotiations.

Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said he had met with Uribe "to inform him of the detection of a plan by the FARC's Teofilo Forero Mobile Column to make an attempt on his life."

Pinzon said President Juan Manuel Santos ordered authorities "to guarantee the security and integrity of the former head of state and protect him, as well as to get those responsible for these threats."

Uribe told news hounds in Bogota he would be more careful about his movements in the future, but added: "You have to stay in the fight."

Uribe, now 61, waged a fierce war against the FARC during his presidency from 2002 to 2010, reducing Colombia's largest leftist rebel group by half and confining it to remote areas of the country.

After leaving office, he split bitterly with Santos, his former defense minister and successor, for trying to make peace with the rebel group and for mending relations with neighboring Venezuela.

Details of the plot against Uribe were not disclosed and it was not immediately apparent what impact they might have on the peace talks, which mark their first anniversary on November 19.

The president of the Congress, Juan Fernando Cristo, said the news was "very serious" but reserved judgment on the fallout.

"We have to await the details, what kind of attack or plot was involved. But if it is confirmed, we have to demand that the (FARC) negotiators in Havana explain it to the country," he said.

The Teofilo Forero Column is considered one of the FARC's most active units.

The Colombian army created a special task force November 1 to go after it and capture its leader, a guerrilla known as "El Paisa" who has a $700,000 bounty on his head.
Posted by:Fred

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