Former FARC member warns government not to agree to prisoner swap

Demobilized FARC guerrilla and designated ‘peace manager’ Olivo Saldaña told the Colombian government on Thursday not to agree with a prisoner swap, claiming it is a trap.

“We, the demobilized, who remain imprisoned, ask that the government not let its arm be twisted, because we will lose an important battle. The FARC is not interested in guerrillas in jail,” Saldaña said.

Instead, the FARC wish to change their status from a narcoterrorist group to a belligerent organization.

The demobilized guerrilla spoke at a forum on Colombia’s armed conflict along with the country’s vice president Francisco Santos.

Santos said that those who intend to take government officials before the International Criminal Court to respond to false positives, would only embroil themselves in a FARC-designed farce.

“Many of the charges that you want to see the government responsible for before the International Criminal Court are [a joke], orchestrated by the FARC to include people who register false positives,” added Saldaña.

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