Chavez to meet Colombian
rebels in renewed
mediation
Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez said Friday
that he will meet with
Colombia's largest rebel
group, the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC), in the
forthcoming days in
renewed efforts to
mediate a swap deal.
After talks with his
Colombian counterpart
Alvaro Uribe, Chavez
said his meeting with
FARC representatives
will help secure the
release of hostages
being held by the rebel
group.
The announcement came
after Chavez said at the
weekend that his meeting
with FARC
representatives
originally planned for
Monday in Caracas had
been suspended due to
security concerns.
Chavez called on Uribe
to provide a private
plane to sent FARC chief
Pedro Antonio Marin, who
is better known by his
alias Manuel Marulanda,
to travel to Venezuela
for the meeting.
The Venezuelan leader
was displeased with
Colombian Defense
Minister Juan Manuel
Santos, who said last
week that FARC leaders
must pay for their own
travel and that it would
be at their own risk
because the Colombian
government forces would
do all they could to
catch them.
"I know there are people
in Colombia who want to
knock this game on the
head, but I also know
that both Uribe and the
FARC want an agreement,
and I want to help
them," Chavez said.
FARC proposes an
exchange for 500
guerrillas with 45
hostages, including
former presidential
candidate Ingrid
Betancourt and three
U.S. citizens.
U.S. Assistant Secretary
of State for Western
Hemisphere Affairs
Thomas Shannon said in
September that
Washington supports
Venezuela's efforts to
facilitate the swap of
hostages.
On Friday, Chavez said
his newly planned
meeting with FARC
representatives is
"indispensable" for
presentation of options
he has worked out to
FARC chief Pedro Antonio
Marin.
"I am awaiting (FARC's)
answer," Chavez said.
Chavez did neither give
a date for the meeting,
nor its venue or names
of the FARC
representatives to
attend it.
"We are not going to
announce dates, nor
locations nor FARC
representatvies' names.
I ignore it," Chavez
said.
Chavez's mediation was
proposed by Colombian
senator Piedad Cordoba
at the request of the
families of the hostages
amid fears that a rescue
mission by government
forces would risk the
lives of the captives.
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