Colombia’s prosecutor general on Monday lifted 50 arrest warrants against six leaders of the FARC rebel group to allow them to participate in the ongoing peace talks with the government in Cuba.
“More than 51 arrest warrants against the new negotiators were lifted. The government and the FARC agreed to the suspension of the warrants while the six guerrillas are in [the Cuban capital of] Havana at the negotiating table to strengthen discussions. They are now in Havana and not only are these 50 arrest warrants suspended, but also any warrant in the future that may be issued against them,” said Prosecutor General Eduardo Montealegre.
Montealegre did not reveal the names of the new FARC negotiators, however recent arrivals to Havana include “Pablo Catatumbo”, Victoria Sandino Palmera, Freddy Gonzalez and Lucas Carvajal.
MORE: Senior FARC commander ‘Pablo Catatumbo’ arrives in Cuba
The prosecutor general made the announcement to coincide with the March for Peace, primarily taking place on Tuesday in the country’s capital of Bogota, but also in other metropolitan centers.
The prosecutor general also criticized former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe for revealing the coordinates for the suspension of military operations in the country, in order to allow for the departure of the new negotiators. Uribe released the coordinates via his twitter account on Monday.
MORE: Alvaro Uribe tweets confidential military information
“It seems to me absolutely irresponsible to give details of coordinates that could have jeopardized this operation. I am making a call for common sense to the ex-president Alvaro Uribe, with all due respect, to never repeat these kinds of acts, which unquestionably endanger the lives and security of the people involved in these negotiations,” said Montealegre.
The prosecutor general said he was waiting on an internal investigation into the leak of the coordinates, which may result in a criminal investigation.
Sources
- Fiscalía suspende más de 50 órdenes de captura a seis guerrilleros que viajaron a Cuba (Radio Caracol)
- Suspenden 50 órdenes de captura contra seis nuevos negociadores de las Farc (El Espectador)
