Report: Rebels proposed peace days before hostage rescue

[Judi Lynn]

updated 2 hours, 19 minutes ago
Report: Rebels proposed peace days before hostage rescue

BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- The new leader of a rebel group in Colombia proposed peace talks with the government in a message made public Tuesday.

Alfonso Cano, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, sent a message to his supporters recently proposing talks with the government on an exchange of prisoners and possible peace deal, according to a RCN Radio of Colombia, which revealed the letter in a broadcast Tuesday, and the Bolivariana News Agency of Venezuela.

The message was dated June 28 -- a few days before a Colombian raid freed 15 high-profile hostages that had been under the FARC's control, including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. defense contractors.

It was not possible to determine whether Cano maintained his position after the raid, the Bolivariana News Agency reported.

After the rescue mission, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe called on the FARC to release an estimated 700 hostages that it continues to hold in the jungles of Colombia as a first step toward peace talks between the two sides.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/07/09/farc.message/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

[Bacchus39]

1. yeah, sure n/t

nn

[AlphaCentauri]

2. amazing that those news came out until now

[EFerrari]

3. It's going to be a while before we can piece together what happened here.

And meanwhile, there are a lot of people in harm's way.