Communism in Colombia

Spanish tourists kidnapped in Colombia

Agencia EFEMay 21, 2013 19:01

Bogota, May 21 (EFE).- Two Spanish tourists were kidnapped last week in northeastern Colombia, police said Tuesday. Angel Sanchez Fernandez, 49, and Maria Concepcion Marlaska Sedano, 43, were abducted on Friday, police spokesmen told Efe. Marlaska Sedano is related to Spanish National Court Judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska. The two tourists are from Aviles, a city in the northern Spanish region of Asturias, and were in Colombia on vacation, police said.

Colombian police find over 2,000 landmines belonging to rebels

Agencia EFEMay 6, 2013 15:01

Bogota, May 6 (EFE).- A total of 2,345 landmines belonging to the FARC guerrilla group were found in the southern province of Caqueta, the Colombian National Police said. The landmines were discovered in San Pablo de Anaya, located 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the city of El Paujil. Officers located the landmines using information provided by "sources" who gave them "the exact coordinates" of the site, the National Police said in a statement.

Colombia sees leniency for rebels if peace deal reached

Agence France-PresseApril 29, 2013 12:16

Colombian guerrilla leaders convicted of war crimes or crimes against humanity could get suspended sentences if government and rebel negotiators reach a peace accord, an official said Monday. The two sides have been negotiating in Havana since late last year to try to end Latin America's last and longest insurgency, one that has ground on for nearly 50 years and claimed an estimated 600,000 lives. Most of the leaders of the leftist rebel group FARC have already been tried and convicted in absentia of a variety of crimes, but none for crimes against humanity or war crimes.

Colombia peace talks resume in Cuba

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 11:03

Colombian peace talks designed to end Latin America's last and oldest insurgency resumed Tuesday after a month's recess, the two sides said. The FARC leftist rebels and the Bogota government each issued statements saying they were determined to reach an accord. But the government side reiterated that the talks could not go indefinitely. And the rebel delegation said it was moving to pick up the pace by addressing points on a five-item agenda that have not yet been discussed.

7 dead in Colombia as FARC, government to resume talks

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 02:15

Five FARC militants, a policeman and a soldier were killed in recent days, authorities said Monday as peace talks aimed at ending the long-running conflict were set to resume. In the southern Caqueta department, five militants from the leftist FARC rebel group were killed and a soldier wounded in fighting in a rural area, the army operational chief there said. In a separate military operation in the same town of Puerto Rico, troops captured four guerrillas and seized weapons and explosives.

Colombia peace talks to resume next week

Agence France-PresseApril 18, 2013 13:01

Colombian peace talks designed to end Latin America's last and oldest insurgency will resume next week after a month's recess, the two sides said. The FARC leftist rebels and the Bogota government said in a joint statement issued in Havana, which is hosting the talks, that the discussions will resume April 23. The negotiations have been in recess since March 21. The talks, which began November 19, so far have addressed only the first item on a five-point agenda -- land reform.

Colombia gov't, FARC delay peace talks until 3rd week in April

Agencia EFEMarch 30, 2013 19:00

Havana, Mar 30 (EFE).- The peace delegations of the Colombian government and the FARC announced Saturday that the continuation of peace talks in Cuba, originally scheduled for April 2, will be delayed until the end of April. Meanwhile the two sides will work "separately" on pending elements of the agrarian problem.

Blast kills 2 soldiers, injures 2 children in Colombia

Agence France-PresseMarch 11, 2013 11:31

Two soldiers were killed and two children injured in a blast in northwestern Colombia, authorities said Monday, blaming leftist FARC rebels for the attack. A device exploded Sunday in a rural area of the San Andres de Cuerquia municipality, "triggered remotely by a cell phone," said the town mayor Oscar Sepulveda. The two children "aged 4 and 11 are in grave condition," he added, saying authorities were in pursuit of guerrillas from the FARC's Front 36, believed to be behind the attack.

Rebel bombings cut water, power to Colombian city

Agencia EFEMarch 5, 2013 15:31

Bogota, Mar 5 (EFE).- Three simultaneous bombings on Tuesday interrupted electricity and water service in the Pacific port city of Tumaco, Colombian authorities said, blaming the attack on leftist FARC rebels. The guerrillas fired two makeshift mortar shells at an army post, while the third attack was carried out with a car bomb, Jaime Rodriguez, an official with the Nariño provincial government, told Blu Radio. The explosives-packed car was detonated in front of the facilities of the state oil company Ecopetrol causing damage to nearby vehicles and houses, he said.

7 Colombian soldiers killed, 5 wounded in clashes with guerrillas

Agencia EFEFebruary 26, 2013 11:27

Bogota, Feb 13 (EFE).- Seven Colombian soldiers were killed and five more wounded in clashes with leftist rebels in the southern province of Caqueta, the military told Efe. "We have seven Colombian soldiers dead," the source said, adding that the fighting with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, took place in the town of Milan. Later, an army communique added that five soldiers had been wounded in combat and were taken to a regional hospital.