HAVANA: Colombia's government and FARC rebels on Friday reached an agreement to eliminate the illegal drugs trade, the third item on a five-point agenda in peace talks to end a half-century of war, hours after the Marxist group called a week-long ceasefire.
The advance in talks nine days ahead of the first round of voting in the presidential election is likely to give President Juan Manuel Santos a boost to his reelection bid. The race is shaping up to be the tightest in two decades.
Discussions on how to eliminate the production of cocaine from Colombia were closed, a source from Colombia's Office of High Commissioner for Peace told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Sergio Jaramillo, who heads the office, serves as a government negotiator at the peace talks in Havana.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced it would stop all attacks from May 20 to May 28, a period that includes the May 25 election. The second biggest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), also said it would call a ceasefire during the period.
Presidential and local elections have historically been marred by leftist rebel attacks nationwide as the groups seek to intimidate and influence voters. The government usually sends thousands of additional troops to patrol during the period.
"We are ordering all of our units to cease any offensive military action against the armed forces or the economic infrastructure as of 0000 hours on Tuesday, May 20, until 2400 hours on Wednesday, May 28," Pablo Catabumbo, a FARC leader, told reporters in Havana.
Santos, who until this week was the frontrunner, faces a tough election battle with right-wing rival Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, who is closing the gap in the first round and seen beating the incumbent in a June 15 runoff, according to two recent surveys.
Comments
Comments are closed.