Peace Timeline 2015

Timeline for 2014 | Timeline for 2013 | Timeline for 2012 and earlier

We are filling in timeline entries between April and July. Some events have yet to be added.

July 12, 2015

In a joint communiqu, government and FARC negotiators agree to speed the

remaining negotiations, to prioritize discussion of a definitive bilateral ceasefire, and

to pursue de-escalation measures. The FARC agrees to suspend all offensive actions.

The government pledges, after July 20, to set in motion a process of de-escalation of military actions corresponding to the FARCs suspension of offensive actions. A representative of the UN Secretary General and a delegate of the government of

Uruguay will be charged with supporting verification and monitoring.

We are going to be vigilant over what was agreed today, President Santos says. And four months from now, depending on whether the FARC comply, I will make the decision about whether or not we continue with the process.

July 9, 2015

With the participation of 50 military personnel, 3 guerrillas, and representatives of

Norwegian Peoples Aid, the first pilot de-mining project under the peace accord begins in the hamlet of El Orejn, in the northern Antioquia municipality of Briceo,

where as many as 3,000 mines are believed to be buried.

July 8, 2015

The FARC announces a one-month unilateral ceasefire, to go into effect on July 20,

Colombias independence day. It is the sixth ceasefire that the guerrilla group has declared since talks began in October 2012.

President Santos downplays the guerrilla announcement. If the ceasefire were accompanied by concrete commitments on the subject of justice and a definitive

ceasefire, then we would be talking about progress, he says. The UN calls the FARC announcement a very meaningful first step toward the de-

escalation of hostilities.

July 7, 2015

The two guarantor governments (Cuba and Norway) and the two accompanying governments (Chile and Venezuela) of the FARC peace talks issue a statement calling

on the government and guerrillas to pursue the urgent de-escalation of the armed conflict.

We want to sign peace with this government, reads a FARC communiqu. We acknowledge the call for de-escalation with commitments, President Santos

tweets. We propose to accelerate negotiation of definitive ceasefire. He adds that a bilateral ceasefire must be serious, verifiable, and with concentration of guerrillas in specific zones.

July 6, 2015

The Colombian conflict-monitoring think-tank CERAC counts 83 FARC offensive

actions during the month since the guerrilla groups unilateral ceasefire ended (May 22 June 22). June 2015 is the most violent month since the peace process began, with 43% more FARC actions than the groups monthly average since the talks began. CERAC counts 16 people killed by the FARC: 2 civilians, 9 police, and 5 army

personnel.

July 5, 2015

In a lengthy interview that runs concurrently in several Colombian newspapers, chief

government negotiator Humberto de la Calle offers a stark assessment of the peace

talks current state. The peace process is at its worst moment since we began talks. I want to tell the FARC in all seriousness, this could end. Some day, its probable that they wont find us around the table in Havana. De la Calle says that the FARC process will end soon, either through an accord or through a break in the talks. He

also holds out the possibility of alternative sentences for the worst human rights

defenders (instead of a jail with striped pajamas) and of a bilateral ceasefire before a final accord is signed. But he acknowledges that public opinion is a challenge: The harsh truth is that Colombians dont believe in the peace process.

Citing a UN Office on Drugs and Crime finding that Colombian coca cultivation

increased 44 percent in 2014, FARC negotiators call for immediate implementation of

the draft drug policy accord it reached with the government in May 2014.

Campesino movement leaders say that, during a recent meeting with President Santos,

the President told them he wants to launch some pilot projects for coca crop

substitution that resemble the counter-drug strategy agreed in the governments third accord with the FARC.

July 3, 2015

What information we have points to the ELN as those responsible, says President Santos of a string of recent small bombs that exploded in Bogot.

July 2, 2015

The parties must return to an effective de-escalation path, one that moves toward a definitive bilateral ceasefire, once negotiations on the crucial transitional justice issue

are sufficiently consolidated, reads a report on the FARC talks from the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.

June 30, 2015

The latest bimonthly Gallup poll [PDF] shows a sharp drop in Colombians belief in the peace process. Only 33 percent of those polledthe lowest eversay that they believe the current talks will result in an accord to end the armed conflict. For the first

time since 2003, more respondents (46%) favor no dialogue and try to defeat them militarily over insist on dialogues until a peace accord is reached (45%) as the best option to solve the guerrilla problem in Colombia.

June 24, 2015

The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere holds a hearing about Colombias peace process, the first in the U.S. Congress since the talks began. We are at a difficult stage in the talks. But both President Santos and the FARC have remained at the negotiating table, testifies [PDF] Special Envoy Bernard Aronson. The talks could accelerate and lead to breakthroughs or the talks could falter and start to fail. What is clear, however, is that

we must continue our engagement. Most members of Congress in attendance voice concern about recent battlefield violence but are generally supportive of the process.

Two Republican members voice skepticism.

In his first press conference as Colombias new defense minister, former government peace negotiator Luis Carlos Villegas says that the government will only consider a

bilateral ceasefire when it is the end of the negotiation, when we have full capacity to verify it, to make it certain, and when everyone is certain that we are headed toward

disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of guerrillas. Not before then.

June 23, 2015

The Bogot think-tank CERAC, which tracks conflict events, reports 86 offensive

actions likely involving the FARC in the month since the group revoked its unilateral

ceasefire. Colombias Human Rights Ombudsmans Office (Defensora del Pueblo) counts 38 FARC attacks on civilian targets, mostly infrastructure, in the previous

month.

A FARC statement again calls on President Santos to agree to a cessation of

hostilities.

The new defense minister, former peace negotiator Luis Carlos Villegas, rejects that

idea. The bilateral ceasefire will be agreed when it is definitive, when the negotiation is at its end, when we have full capacity to verify it. Villegas adds, If peace does not occur through political negotiationwhich is what Ive believed in for all my lifeI will also be ready for what would be the armed forces most victorious period.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights representative in Colombia, Todd Howland, suggests a two-week or monthlong ceasefire to reduce tensions and allow advances at the negotiating table.

June 22, 2015

Government and FARC negotiators begin the 38th round of talks in Havana.

An ELN statement alleges that the United States and Europe promote peace in order

to advance their economic interests in Colombia.

June 21, 2015

The days are gone in which one side would greet the other in a natural sort of way in the halls of Havanas Hotel Palco, writes Semana magazine columnist Mara Jimena Duzn, of the government and guerrilla negotiators. What is perceived today is a tension, which slows the momentum and which weighs on them when they happen to

make eye contact and greet each other with gritted teeth.

In the history of wars, deadlines have proven to be fatal for states, more than for their adversaries, says Juan Carlos Pinzn, en route to Washington as Colombias U.S. ambassador after nearly four years as defense minister. If we decide to set deadlines, that could generate perverse incentives.

Former President Csar Gaviria says he favors granting President Santos special

executive powers to implement peace accords. He needs these faculties on many fronts. With regard to transitional justice, because non-combatants arent included, and because the issue of those most responsible [for human rights crimes] is

complicated in the armed forces.

June 18, 2015

Antonio Navarro Wolff and Claudia Lpez, senators from Colombias Green Party, which has been supportive of the peace negotiations, call for a ballot measure, to

accompany October 25, 2015 local elections, proposing an April 9, 2016 deadline for

the FARC peace talks.

June 16, 2015

Colombias Peace and Reconciliation Foundation think-tank, which monitors the conflict, counts 147 armed actions in the 25 days since the FARC declared an end to

its unilateral ceasefire, the great majority of them FARC offensive actions. During the entire December-May truce period, the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation

counted 91 armed actions, of which 12including the April 15 Buenos Aires, Cauca attackwere apparent FARC violations of its own ceasefire.

June 15, 2015

This week sees a further intensification of the FARCs post-truce offensive. Guerrillas execute two policemen, one a colonel, in Nario. Oil pipeline bombings cause

environmental damage in Norte de Santander, Putumayo, and Nario, with the latter

attack causing a large riverine oil spill. Several other populations, including the

Pacific coastal cities of Buenaventura and Tumaco, suffer lengthy electricity

blackouts after power pylons are dynamited.

June 14, 2015

Former President lvaro Uribe, now an opposition senator highly critical of the

FARC peace talks, issues a proposal laying out terms for a bilateral cease-fire. It

hinges on the concentration of FARC members in specific, unpopulated areas of the

country during the cease-fire. Uribes proposal would allow the concentrated FARC members to remain armed and to receive financial support, and would contemplate

international verification. It receives a mixed reception among Colombias political class: some view it as proposing unworkable conditions, others see it as a possible

opening offer in cease-fire talks with the guerrillas.

June 13, 2015

If with these senseless, cowardly acts the FARC intends to bring me to a bilateral ceasefire, theyre wrong, says President Santos during a visit to Rome. Seores of the FARC, make no mistake. That road that you have taken is not the right road, the

only possible road is to accelerate the conversations and arrive soon at some accords,

as Colombians demand.

June 4, 2015

At the close of the 37th round of talks in Havana, government and FARC negotiators

announce an accord laying out the structure and mandate of a Commission for Clarification of the Truth, Coexistence, and Non-Repetition. This commission, which would have eleven members including up to three foreigners, would have six

months to establish itself and three years to function after the signing of a final peace

accord.

May 26, 2015

The chief of Colombias armed forces, Gen. Juan Pablo Rodrguez, tells a Colombian Senate hearing that, in his view, the military must remain at its current size after a

peace accord is signed. Though its true that the objective is to reach an accord for the end of the conflict, that doesnt mean that peace was achieved. More threats can come.

In remarks given in Spain, the Colombian governments inspector-general (Procurador), Alejandro Ordez, a critic of the FARC talks, says that the peace

process is in intensive care.

May 25, 2015

A FARC statement reads, The sorrowful events that occurred last week are a step backward in the advances made until now at the table in Havana. It calls for the return of killed fighters bodies to their families, for negotiation of a bilateral ceasefire, and for a constitutional convention to re-write Colombias constitution.

The moment has come to stop congratulating ourselves for deaths, President Santos says. The dialogues need a strong stimulusI agreeand thats why I reiterate once more my request to accelerate the negotiations, including those that may bring about a

bilateral and definitive ceasefire. When I say bilateral and definitive, this must include an end to any participation in any kind of crime: narcotrafficking, extortion,

illegal mining. The President says he has ordered the coroners office to return guerrilla cadavers to relatives, as the FARC requested.

A military operation in Choc department kills veteran guerrilla leader Romn Ruiz, commander of the FARCs 18th Front, who was leading the FARCs Northwestern Bloc while its commander, Pastor Alape, serves as a negotiator in Havana.

May 22, 2015

On the first day of the 37th round of talks, in response to the Colombian militarys renewed air raids, the FARC declares an end to its five-month-old unilateral ceasefire

and demands that the negotiating parties work separately. Both sides negotiators do not meet in Havana until May 25th.

During the 153-day ceasefire, such low levels of conflict violence had not been registered since 1984, reports the conflict-monitoring think-tank CERAC.

May 21, 2015

A Colombian military and police air raid kills 27 members of the FARCs 29th front in Guapi, Cauca. Another aerial attack kills 10 FARC guerrillas in Segovia, Antioquia

on May 23. Among the dead in Guapi is Jairo Martnez, who spent time in Havana as

a supporting member of the FARCs negotiating team. Everything indicates that we have received a very hard blow that affects us

internally, reads an intercepted e-mail order from maximum FARC leader Timolen Jimnez. All who have targets must begin to act as soon as possible.

May 20, 2015

Colombias government adds two non-plenipotentiary members to its negotiating team: Foreign Minister Mara ngela Holgun, who will serve in Havana on a part-

time basis; and prominent businessman Gonzalo Restrepo.

U.S. Special Envoy Bernard Aronson meets in Caracas with Venezuelan President

Nicols Maduro to discuss how the two countries can support a mutually acceptable solution to Colombias conflict. The visit reportedly responded to an invitation from Maduro, who said he spoke to Aronson until after midnight.

May 19, 2015

Colombias government announces that Luis Carlos Villegas, a former peace negotiator and current ambassador to the United States, will switch jobs with Defense

Minister Juan Carlos Pinzn, who has held that post since 2011.

May 18, 2015

At some point during this week, FARC negotiators pay quick visits to sites in Meta

and Antioquia to update guerrilla fighters about advances in the negotiations. While

visiting the Yar plains in Meta, guerrilla leader Henry Castellanos alias Romaa reportedly says that areas where landmine removal occurs should be considered off-

limits for future conflict. What we have agreed so far is that its a zone in which it will be prohibited to bomb again, to lay mines in again, it will be prohibited to return

to confrontations in that place.

May 14, 2015

The Colombian governments National Narcotics Council, following President Santoss recommendation, votes to suspend a program that for 21 years has sprayed herbicides from aircraft over zones were coca is grown. Stopping the program had

been a longtime FARC demand, and the accord on Solution to the Problem of Illicit Drugs would have curbed the practice sharply.

April 15, 2015

FARC guerrillas attack members of an army mobile brigade in the village of Buenos

Aires, in Timba municipality in Cauca department, killing 11 and wounding 17. Faced

with charges that they violated their own unilateral ceasefire, guerrilla negotiators in

Havana insist that the action was defensive. Subsequent shows of public outrage

throw the peace talks into crisis.

April 12, 2015

In an interview with Colombias El Espectador newspaper, maximum ELN leader Nicols Rodrguez says, We value and view with respect the FARC comrades efforts in the peace process, however, with regard to agenda points and focuses, as well as societys participation, we have another way of understanding advances and developments.

April 11, 2015

President Santos and U.S. President Barack Obama hold a bilateral meeting alongside

the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, where most presidents declarations included expressions of support for Colombias peace process. I want to congratulate President Santos on his extraordinary efforts to bring about an end to a conflict that

has plagued Colombia for too long, Obama says. The United States is very proud to support that effort. Ive deployed envoy Bernard Aronson, with deep experience in the region, to be supportive of President Santoss efforts. As youve heard, I think, in the plenary, this is an issue that many people care deeply about. It entails some risks, the

FARC, but President Santos I believe is doing the right thing, and we want to be as

helpful as we can in the process.

April 10, 2015

The 35th round of government-FARC talks begins in Havana.

FARC statement

April 9, 2015

In commemoration of a National Day for Victims, thousands, including President

Santos, march for peace in several Colombian cities. The day marks the 67th

anniversary of the assassination of political leader Jorge Elicer Gaitn, which set off

an era of violence that has ebbed and flowed ever since.

President Santos extends for another month the freeze on aerial bombings of FARC

targets.

Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzn reiterates that ex-combatants will not be

welcome in the security forces after a peace accord. In no way do we imagine those who were in criminality carrying weapons or uniforms of the Republic.

April 8, 2015

Tensions increase between President Santos and the countrys Inspector-General (Procurador), Alejandro Ordez, who has voiced frequent criticism of the

governments handling of negotiations with the FARC. After Santos calls the Inspector-Generals criticisms untruthful attacks on the process, Ordez publicizes a list of 45 questions about victims, transitional justice, and post-conflict

implementation. Santos says that the Presidency will create a web page to respond to

these and other frequently asked public questions about the process.

April 7, 2015

In a press conference, retired Army Gen. Jorge Mora confirms that he remains on the

governments principal negotiating team. His absence from the last round of Havana talks, along with President Santoss comments that Gen. Mora no longer needed to serve as one of the permanent five negotiators, had generated discontent among

retired military officers and conservative politicians.

Colombias Army states that three soldiers died in incidents instigated by the FARC

during the previous thirty days, despite the FARCs declared unilateral cease-fire. The incidents, which include one soldier killed by a landmine, occurred in Cauca and

Meta.

April 2, 2015

The Vatican announces that Pope Francis will visit Colombia at a yet-to-be-

announced date. The Popes letter to Colombias Catholic leadership calls on them to take the risks of putting into place peace from the victims perspective.

April 1, 2015

In a speech at the Armys base in Tolemaida, Tolima, President Santos denounces a campaign, including the participation of some retired generals, to foster division

within the armed forces by spreading lies about the peace process. It hurts me much that, within the armed forces themselves, there are people interested in dividing you

or acting in bad faith.

Transitional justice, says Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzn, Is not for the armed

forces, they dont need that benefit. Ninety-nine percent of our military and police personnel dont face judicial processes related to human rights violations or criminal problems associated with the conflict.

Retired armed-forces chief Gen. Jorge Mora, one of the governments principal negotiators in Havana, says: On one occasion talking with [lead FARC negotiator Ivn] Mrquez, I told him: Mrquez, this is the last chance the FARC has to reach the

end of the conflict, because we now have five in Casa Verde, in Caracas, in Tlaxcala, in the Cagun, and this is the fifth opportunity with the FARC. So have no

doubt, Mrquez. This is the last, there wont be a next opportunity to reach the end of the conflict through a peace process.

Germany names a special commissioner for the peace talks in Colombia: Tom

Koenigs, who had served as the German governments human rights commissioner.

March 27, 2015

The 34th round of FARC-government talks ends in Havana.

Joint communiqu.

Lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle says that the negotiators made

progress on the Victims accord, and are nearly done with arrangements to begin de-mining activities in Antioquia and Meta departments. He adds that a group made up of delegates from the Ministries of Defense and Justice, of the Armed Forces Transition Command, the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, and domestic

and international experts is working on proposals for transitional justice for military and police personnel accused of human rights abuses.

Inspector-General (Procurador) Alejandro Ordez declares himself perplexed by the reported exit of retired Army Gen. Jorge Mora and retired Police Gen. scar

Naranjo from the governments main negotiating team, saying it generates distrust in the security forces and among citizens. President Santos replies, I ask the Inspector-General to stop playing politics, to stop sticking himself into the peace process, since

that is a responsibility of mine, of the President of the Republic. On March 29, Santos tweets, In what language do I have to repeat that Gens. Mora and Naranjo are still plenipotentiary negotiators and will be in Havana for the next round?

March 26, 2015

President Santos says that a peace accord will allow Colombias security forces to do more to fight crime in cities. In the future we wont have 14,000 soldiers there in the jungles of the Cagun, instead well have 14,000 men protecting our citizens here in Medelln, on the roads, in the cities.

March 25, 2015

FARC negotiators thank Russias foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, for expressing support for the peace process during a March 24 visit to Bogot.

March 24, 2015

The End of Conflict Subcommittee, which includes several high-ranking active-duty military officers, meets again in Havana to discuss issues like a cease-fire,

disarmament, and demobilization.

FARC March 26 message to this Subcommittee

March 23, 2015

Guerrilla negotiator Pablo Catatumbo warns against excessive optimism about the

peace process. To talk about irreversibility isnt helpful for the process, he says. Much remains to be gotten through before we can say everything is almost ready.

March 22, 2015

Interviewed by the Colombian daily El Tiempo, the chief of Colombias armed forces, Gen. Juan Pablo Rodrguez, criticizes disinformation that is managed through social networks. They talk about a sector of the militarys supposed discontent with the process. If there is someone who has supported this process, it is us. At no moment

have we been, nor will we be, an obstacle for peace.

March 21, 2015

Colombias Human Rights Ombudsmans Office (Defensora del Pueblo) reports that while the FARC has kept its pledge not to carry out military attacks, its hostilities

against the populationthreats, extortion, landmine detonations, confinement, and similar crimeshave continued.

March 19, 2015

The FARCs unilateral cease-fire is dissolving in practice, and it pains us to acknowledge it, because there have been so many attacks and operations targeting our

positions that our people have been forced to respond, lead guerrilla negotiator Ivn Mrquez told reporters.

March 17, 2015

The 34th round of talks begins in Havana between Colombian government and FARC

negotiators, with the Victims agenda item the main point of discussion. Colombias post-conflict super-minister, retired police Gen. scar Naranjo, says

that government-FARC teams will begin work on de-mining projects within six

weeks.

March 16, 2015

Following the first meeting of the Advisory Committee for Peace, President Santos

announces that the two retired security-force officers on the governments central negotiating team, Army Gen. Jorge Mora and Police Gen. scar Naranjo, will be

stepping down. The decision has been made that the [End of Conflict] Subcommittee [which is made up of active-duty generals] will meet, Santos said, and that as a result

the permanent presence of Gen. Mora and Gen. Naranjo arent going to be necessary. On March 20, Santos clarifies that both remain on the government negotiating team, but not as one of the five principal, plenipotentiary members.

March 15, 2015

Former President lvaro Uribe, the FARC talks most vocal critic, asks the government to slow the pace of the talks to avoid signing agreements that will harm our democracy. Uribe suggests concentrating FARC fighters into specific areas of the country while the slowed-down talks take place. President Santos rejects this idea

as illogical. Asked by Colombias El Espectador whether he will ask the United States to

repatriate imprisoned FARC leader Simn Trinidad, as the guerrillas have requested,

President Santos responds, There is no worse errand than that one that isnt done. But it doesnt look easy in the near future. Asked about a possible bilateral cease-fire, Santos says that many points must first be agreed, especially a verification system that is serious and credible for all, which will probably be international.

March 14, 2015

Advances have been made in the preparation of an Agenda, notes a tweet from the ELN. It hasnt concluded, but only one point remains and work continues to define it with clarity. According to the guerrilla group, a round of secret talks with government representatives ended on March 8.

March 13, 2015

We agree that there cannot be peace without impunity, says chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle after a meeting with President Santos and Internal

Affairs Chief (Procurador General) Alejandro Ordez.

March 11, 2015

Despite the governments freeze on aerial bombardments, Colombias armed forces will use all the tools at its disposal to combat the FARC, says Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzn.

Inspector-General (Procurador) Alejandro Ordez criticizes President Santoss announced freeze: This announcement means the paralysis of the armed forces against the FARC while that group continues impacting the civilian population with a

range of crimes. Ordez also writes a letter to Former President lvaro Uribe asking the peace-

process critic to participate in the Advisory Committee for Peace that President Santos

announced the previous day. Uribe declines.

I have not ruled out the possibility of a bilateral cease-fire before we agree on other points, President Santos tells the Wall Street Journal.

March 10, 2015

President Santos announces a one-month cessation of aerial bombings of FARC

encampments.

In a March 13 statement, FARC negotiators question the generosity of President

Santoss announcement, calling it a ploy to distract from the Armys March 8 killing, in an ambush, of the commander of the guerrilla groups 57th Front in Choc.

President Santos invites several top political figures, including some critics of the

FARC peace process, to join an Advisory Committee for Peace. Former President

Andrs Pastrana and Former Defense Minister Marta Luca Ramrez, both from

Colombias Conservative Party, accept the invitation; Former President lvaro Uribe and members of his Democratic Center Party turn Santos down. Other members are

Clara Lpez of the leftist Polo Democrtico party; Antanas Mockus, two-time former

mayor of Bogot; Bogot Cardinal Rubn Salazar; Bancolombia President Carlos

Ral Yepes; CGT labor union President Julio Roberto Gmez; Former Defense

Minister Gen. (R) Rafael Samudio; former M19 guerrilla leader Vera Grabe; Former Culture Minister Paula Moreno; and indigenous leader Ati Quigua.

On March 18, FARC negotiators describe the Commission as elitist and exclusive and not taking into account all sectors of political, social, and economic life existing in the country.

March 9, 2015

The Colombian government postpones the extradition to the United States of captured

FARC leader Eduardo Cabrera, alias El Cura, in what is widely interpreted as a signal to FARC negotiators that they will not be extradited for past crimes if they

demobilize. Cabrera, the brother of Southern Bloc leader and Havana negotiator

Fabin Ramrez, faces a U.S. indictment for narcotrafficking and was captured in

November 2013.

March 8, 2015

Thousands of Colombians, including President Santos, participate in a march for

peace and life first proposed by former Bogot mayor Antanas Mockus.

March 7, 2015

The 33rd round of talks between the Colombian government and the FARC ends in

Havana.

Government and FARC negotiators announce an agreement to begin humanitarian

landmine removal projects. The joint statement reveals a methodology for

collaborative work, together with Norwegian Peoples Aid, to identify and remove anti-personnel mines, improvised explosive devices, and unexploded ordnance.

Statement of lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle

A statement from FARC negotiators says both sides are ready to write the accord on conflict victims, the talks current agenda item.

March 5, 2015

The bimonthly Gallup poll [PDF] finds 72 percent of Colombian respondents

supporting the governments decision to negotiate with the FARC. This is 10 points higher than the same poll found in December. For only the second time since the talks

started, Gallup finds a majority53 percentoptimistic that an accord may be reached.

FARC proposal on political and social pardon as a foundation of the national

reconciliation process

March 4, 2015

FARC negotiator Joaqun Gmez calls on the government to declassify and release

documents in official archives, which could be released to a special commission even

before an accord is reached.

FARC first proposal for clarification of historical truth

March 3, 2015

FARC negotiators release an eighth minimum proposal for the Victims agenda item. In an additional brief reflection, the document states, Let it be known that no accord is possible that would impose a single day in prison for any guerrilla for

having exercised the right to rebel, a precious gift of humanity, in order to end the

injustices our people have suffered. I hope that peace arrives soon, its good for Colombia, its good for Latin America,

and its good for the whole world, says Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy during a visit from President Santos.

March 2, 2015

Former President Uribe tells the EFE news service, If they need to take a long time to reach accords in Havana that dont affect democracy or private enterprise, we dont oppose those dialogues being prolonged indefinitely on one condition: [that] the FARC agree to concentrate all of its structures in one site, under the international

communitys supervision.

March 1, 2015

U.S. Special Envoy Bernard Aronson holds separate closed-door meetings with

Colombian government and FARC negotiators in Havana. None involved reveal

anything about the discussions content. It was the first meeting between a U.S. government representative and FARC representatives since 1998. President Santos

says Aronsons visit shows the political significance of the United States commitment to the process.

Statement from chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle

A delegation of four active-duty generals and a rear admiral travels to Havana to meet

with FARC negotiators. They are part of the End of Conflict Subcommittee, led on the government side by a fifth active-duty general, Javier Flrez. The possibility of a bilateral cease-fire is being looked at, being analyzed, says Foreign Minister Mara

ngela Holgun. The country should feel tranquil with confidence that those who are going to speak about these issues are experts who will not let the other side score

goals, Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzn says. The delegation is composed of two Army brigadier generals, Martn Fernando Nieto and Alfonso Rojas Tirado, del

Ejrcito; Air Force Brigadier General Oswaldo Rivera; Navy Rear Admiral Orlando

Romero, de la Armada; and Police Brigadier General lvaro Pico.

FARC statements 1 2 on End of Conflict Subcommittee (released March 5) Shlomo Ben Ami, the former Israeli foreign minister who serves as an informal peace

advisor to President Santos, reveals at a Bogot conference that the Colombian

government raised with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden the possibility of releasing

Ricardo Palmera, alias Simn Trinidad, a FARC leader extradited to the United States in 2004. Since the peace talks beginning, the FARC has sought to gain Simn Trinidads release and to include him on its negotiating team. Trinidad is serving a 60-year sentence in the Supermax federal prison in Colorado for his intermediary role in the FARCs 20032008 imprisonment of three U.S. defense contractors. On March 3, President Santos says that despite Ben Amis comments, the Simon Trinidad issue has not come up in communications with the United States.

Reports from the Broad Front for Peace and the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation

(released February 23) find that the FARC has almost completely honored the

unilateral cease-fire declared on December 20. The Peace and Reconciliation report

finds that, in part due to its declared truces, violent actions initiated by the FARC

dropped by 40 percent between 2013 and 2014. Actions by the ELN, however,

increased by 43 percent from 2012 to 2014.

Weve never seen the FARC this committed to the process, President Santos says in

an interview with Spains El Pas. Asked about U.S. requests to extradite FARC leaders, Santos says, We must find a solution to that. Nobody is going to turn in weapons only to go and die in a U.S. jail. Thats totally unrealistic. That is now a responsibility of mine in my relations with the United States, to find a solution to

that.

February 28, 2015

This year were going to begin a dialogue with the ELN, President Santos tells the Spanish news agency EFE. Im almost sure that it will be so. He notes that the ELN is slower to make decisions because it has a different structure, its more about taking collective decisions. They have to consult among themselves, they have

another way of thinking about many issues. Asked whether voters might ratify an agreement with the FARC in October, Santos responds affirmatively.

February 26, 2015

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Western

Hemisphere Subcommittee, sends a letter to U.S. Special Envoy Bernard Aronson

warning that the outcome of the ongoing negotiations between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) could have

serious and long lasting effect on the national security interest of the United States

and Colombia. Rubio calls on Aronson to refuse to release any FARC members imprisoned in the United States, to continue to insist on extradition of FARC

members wanted in the United States, and to insist on continued aerial eradication of

coca.

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan travels to Havana and meets with

Colombian government and FARC representatives. Appearing before reporters,

Annan says that demobilized guerrillas may have to face prison time: Those maximally responsible must be accountable to justice. On February 27, FARC

negotiator Jess Santrich calls Annans comment unfortunate It surely doesnt help the peace process to advance at all, what it does is confuse and place more

obstacles in the way. Statement from chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle on Annan visit

FARC request for a second exchange of ideas with Annan

Ex-President Uribe leaks an internal Colombian Army communication indicating that

the FARC, despite its declared cease-fire, may be planning attacks. When challenged

about the leak, Uribe says, The President of the Republic has de-authorized the Armed Forces initiative action against terrorism the Armed Forces task is not to negotiate with terrorism, but to give security to us Colombians.

February 25, 2015

The 33rd round of talks begins in Havana between Colombian government and FARC

negotiators.

Speaking at a Bogot conference co-hosted by the Kofi Annan Foundation and the

International Center for Transitional Justice, Sergio Jaramillo, the Colombian

governments high commissioner for peace, calls for establishing a special tribunal for the termination of the conflict that can administer justice and a truth commission.

In his own comments at the same event, President Santos warns, we dont want to sign a peace accord that later ends up being defeated in the courts, referring to what might happen to a transitional justice model that is viewed as too lenient.

February 24, 2015

I have a vehement reproach for the FARC, says chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle. It seems to me that their statements have been full of dodges, of excuses, and that what Colombians want is a categorical recognition of their

victims, of the acts they have committed. While the FARC have respected their declared cease-fire, de la Calle adds, Other hostilities that affect the population continue. There is extortion, there is combination with elements close to

narcotrafficking, that has not ended. On Twitter, FARC chief negotiator Ivn Mrquez contends that de la Calle sees the conflicts reality with the eyes of a judge and participant.

February 22, 2015

For the guerrillas, zero jail. No peace process in the world has ended with the insurgencys leaders behind bars, lead FARC negotiator Ivn Mrquez tells a Colombian TV interviewer. He adds that rather than abandoning its weapons, the

FARC would stop using them politically. The Colombian governments high commissioner for peace, Sergio Jaramillo,

responds, The guerrillas think that if we dont guarantee them impunity, they wont put down their weapons. If that is their thinking, there wont be an agreement, there wont be peace.

Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzn asks the media to stop giving so much coverage

to FARC leaders because they are not Colombians in a state of legality, and they shouldnt have space to speculate, to lie, or to issue information as if they were any good citizen.

February 20, 2015

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announces the nomination of Bernard Aronson to

be the first special envoy for the Colombian peace process. Aronson served as

assistant secretary of state for Inter-American Affairs during the George H.W. Bush

administration (19891993), at a time when the U.S. government supported the peace process in El Salvador. We have no blueprint made in Washington to offer, Aronson says. We will not take a place at the negotiating table, but we can push, prod, cajole, and clarify and help wherever we can.

Statement of President Santos

Statement of FARC negotiators

February 19, 2015

A FARC statement alleges that, despite the groups unilateral cease-fire, Colombian armed forces continued to initiate attacks in the eastern plains.

February 18, 2015

After a peace accord, President Santos says, Were going to be able to use those resources that are concentrated on war to give more security to common citizens.

February 17, 2015

The World Bank and the government of Sweden announce a Multi-Donor Peace and

Post-Conflict Fund for Colombia.

Statement of President Santos

There is no place for a general amnesty, President Santos says. That is beyond any consideration. The alternative sentences that will be considered must be effective, authentic penalties, and not simple simulations.

February 16, 2015

Appearing on a Colombian radio show, lead FARC negotiator Ivn Mrquez says that

only 13 FARC members are under 15 years old, and that all will be discharged.

However, statistics from Colombias child welfare agency (ICBF) indicate that of the 5,708 minors who have demobilized from armed groups since 1999, 60 percent said

they were FARC members.

February 15, 2015

Former President Csar Gaviria proposes a transitional justice scheme that would

include not just guerrillas and military officers, but also civilians who aided and

abetted violence. All, in Gavirias proposal, would have to confess human rights crimes and contribute to reparations. Non-combatants, though, would avoid prison, as

would lower-ranking military officers. FARC negotiators hail the proposal for

saying that theres not just one side responsible.

After long and intense conversations maintained throughout last year, hopefully this

year will see the result that many desire within Colombia, says German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a visit to Colombia.

February 13, 2015

Colombias Defense Ministry and the U.S. Southern Command co-host a private discussion in Cartagena for military officers about the implications of the peace

process and the post-conflict.

February 12, 2015

The 32nd round of FARC-government talks ends in Havana.

Joint communiqu from government and FARC negotiators, including explanation of

the mandate of the End of Conflict Subcommittee FARC negotiators announce that the group is raising its minimum recruitment age

from 15 to 17 years old. They do not promise to discharge members currently under

17. I dont understand why 17 years of age? The established norm is 18, and I dont understand why theyve only gone halfway, President Santos says.

The FARCs step is still not enough, says lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle.

Colombias Supreme Court approves the extradition to the United States, to face

narcotrafficking charges, of paramilitary leader Rodrigo Prez Alzate, alias Julin Bolvar. The extradition is notable because Bolvar had served an eight-year sentence under the Justice and Peace Law transitional-justice framework that governed the AUC paramilitaries demobilization, and was regarded to have cooperated with judicial authorities in confessing his human rights crimes. Though the

Court found that Bolvar had not stopped engaging in drug trafficking after his

demobilization, observers in Colombias media speculated about the extraditions possible impact on the talks with the FARC.

February 11, 2015

Ex-President lvaro Uribe, along with a group of members of his Democratic Center

political party, pays a two-day visit to Washington. His principal message is one of

opposition to the peace process. White House staff do not meet with Uribe, but the

Ex-President documents meetings with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and Reps.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida), Mario Daz-Balart (R-Florida), and Henry Cullar

(D-Texas). Uribe planned a public event during his visit, but it is canceled.

President Santos offers to sit down with the right-wing opposition to talk about the

peace process: Im sure that if we sit down together, I can convince them that were not going to disappear the Army here, nor are we going to hand over the Police so that

a FARC comandante becomes its director, nor are we going to deliver the country to

communism. Despite the FARCs declared cease-fire, Colombias Human Rights Ombudsmans

office (Defensora del Pueblo) accuses the guerrilla group of continued constraint, pressure, and intimidation of civilian populations in several parts of the country.

February 10, 2015

The Historical Commission On the Conflict and Its Victims issues its 800-page report

on the causes of Colombias conflict. In August 2014, the the FARC and government negotiators charged the Commission, a panel of 12 scholars and two editors, with

drafting a report explaining reasons why the armed conflict began and was prolonged.

The report is made up of 12 essays, one by each contributor, representing a range of

political views.

FARC statement on report release (issued February 12)

FARC negotiators announce that the group will maintain its unilateral cease-fire.

ACORE, the association of retired military officers that has maintained a very critical

line about the peace process, hosts a discussion among experts called Pact for Peace. Among invited speakers are some prominent supporters of the peace process from the political left.

71 percent of respondents to a National Consultancy Center poll say they approve of

President Santoss decision to begin negotiations with the FARC, up from 68 percent in January. 54 percent believe that the current process may end the conflict, up from

48 percent in January.

February 9, 2015

Colombian government Internal Affairs Chief (Procurador General) Alejandro

Ordez sends the FARC a letter reiterating his claim, already made in a message to

the International Criminal Court, that the guerrilla group is responsible for 2,760

forced disappearances. The FARC have to be serious, to show their faces and stop believing that they can hide their crimes with rhetoric, it reads. A day earlier, FARC negotiators had accused Ordez of not seeking, but making up false evidence against the group.

A Datexco poll finds 42 percent of Colombian respondents approving of President

Santoss conduct of the peace talks, up 8 points from November. 42 percent believe the talks will reach an accord, up 6 points from November.

February 7, 2015

The FARC issues a proposal for demilitarization of society and reform of the military forces and the police and a proposal for provision and real and material non-repetition guarantees.

February 6, 2015

FARC negotiators invite Colombian citizen Paulina Vega, recent winner of the Miss

Universe pageant, to meet with them in Havana about your desire to contribute with your good offices to reach peace and reconciliation.

February 5, 2015

In an interview with Bogots Canal Capital television station, the leader of the ELN, Nicols Rodrguez Bautista alias Gabino, is pessimistic about near-term peace prospects. We do not see the possibility (of negotiations) in the short term and we have always said that a peace process is not a matter of months.

Gen. Javier Flrez, the active-duty officer heading the Colombian governments

representation on the FARC peace talks End of Conflict Subcommittee, travels to Havana. The presence of General Flrez in Havana guarantees institutionally and represents the Armed Forces, tweets Gen. Juan Pablo Rodrguez, the commander of Colombias armed forces.

A Cifras y Conceptos poll finds 47 percent of Colombian respondents believing that

the FARC negotiations will end well, up from 39 percent in December.

February 4, 2015

The guerrillas dont want to be the first ones in history to turn in their weapons only to go to a jail, but at the same time, todays world is different and we have a national and international jurisprudence that dont allow pardons or amnesties as they did in the past, President Santos says in a speech before Colombias diplomatic corps.

FARC negotiators issue a proposal for a special reparations fund for victims.

February 3, 2015

In a message to Colombias security forces, ELN leader Nicols Rodrguez Bautista, alias Gabino, proposes creating zones in which neither side carries out military operations. The government does not respond positively.

FARC negotiators issue a proposal for full recognition of conflict victims rights. FARC Secretariat declaration denouncing continued paramilitary activity around the

country.

February 2, 2015

Colombian government and FARC negotiators begin a 32nd round of talks in Havana.

In this new start of dialogues, we want to begin writing down the accord on victims, tweets lead FARC negotiator Ivn Mrquez.

We must moderate our optimism. The largest knot is that of transitional justice. There are still considerable distances between the government and the FARC, says lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle.

FARC statement

Negotiators meet in Havana with Norways foreign minister, Borge Brende.

January 31, 2015

President Santos denies rumors of an imminent announcement of a launch of ELN

peace talks.

January 30, 2015

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon issues a statement noting that he is encouraged that the year has begun with optimism in Colombia about the prospects for reaching a

peace agreement in 2015.

January 28, 2015

Regional heads of state at the third summit of the Community of Latin American and

Caribbean States (CELAC) approve a special declaration of support for Colombias peace process.

January 27, 2015

A FARC communiqu claims that military attacks during the guerrillas declared unilateral truce have killed six FARC members and fourteen soldiers. FARC

negotiators alert our guerrilla forces throughout the country about the serious situation, implying that the group may call off its truce if the military continues offensive actions.

January 26, 2015

Visiting France, President Santos receives strong words of support for the peace

process from Prime Minister Franois Hollande. There is will to see this through to the end, and I want to give not only political support, but also the guarantee that

France and the European Union will rise to the task. Hollande offered financial and technical support to a post-conflict Colombia.

Asked in France whether former FARC members might be incorporated into the rural

police force he proposed a day earlier, President Santos says It hasnt occurred to me, but I dont discard the idea, something like this could be negotiated with the counterpart. Internal Affairs Chief (Procurador) Alejandro Ordez, a frequent critic of the talks, accuses the government of negotiating the security forces structure with the FARC, something President Santos has promised he would not do. On January 27

the President calls Ordezs statement ill-intentioned: It is really perverse to conclude that, for saying that I havent thought of demobilized peoples entry into the police, but that I dont discard the idea, that means that Im negotiating the security forces in Havana. I said, I havent thought about it, but I dont discard it. And why dont I discard it? Because I have thought that, for example, they could be forest rangers.

Colombias government trades sharp words with that of Venezuela, one of two accompanying countries of the peace process, about Venezuelas continued detention of opposition leader Leopoldo Lpez. We hope that Leopoldo Lpez recovers his liberty as soon as possible, reads a Colombian Foreign Ministry statement. Venezuelas Foreign Ministry replied, This represents a dangerous step backward for bilateral relations. Tensions appear to ease after Presidents Santos and Maduro meet on January 28 at the summit of the Community of Latin American and

Caribbean States (CELAC).

Colombias Comptroller-Generals Office (Contralora) estimates that reintegrating

former FARC members could cost between 1.8 trillion to 2.7 trillion Colombian pesos

(US$800 million US$1.2 billion).

January 25, 2015

Responding to a reporters question while on a visit to France, President Santos says that post-conflict Colombia might need a mobile rural police. Thinking about the post-conflict, the French Gendarmerie is a model that could be very important for us,

and we hope that you offer us collaboration in this field. Interviewed by Colombias El Tiempo newspaper, U.S. Ambassador Kevin Whitaker

says, We fully support the Colombian government in its efforts to arrive at a negotiated peace. This is the best chance in 50 years to achieve peace. Whitaker says he is optimistic that an accord will be reached, after which it is very possible that [Colombia] will be another country. Asked about the FARCs insistence on the U.S. government freeing guerrilla leaders in U.S. prisons, especially Simon Trinidad, Whitaker responds, First, its important to remember that our judicial branch is independent. Second, a person who has been sentenced is in a very different position,

and third, we fully support the Colombian government in its efforts to arrive at a

negotiated peace, and we dont want to be an obstacle, we want to help.

January 23, 2015

The Colombian armed forces Inspector-General issues a report on the Andromeda scandal, the February 2014 revelations that a military intelligence operation, posing as

a Bogot internet cafe, was spying on civilians including members of the government

negotiating team in Havana. As a result, the armed forces fire five intelligence

officers and non-commissioned officers, nineteen soldiers, and a civilian.

January 20, 2015

A month after the start of the FARCs unilateral, indefinite cease-fire, the guerrillas have not violated it, according to reports from Colombias Human Rights Ombudsman (Defensora) and the think-tanks CERAC and Peace and Reconciliation

Foundation.

FARC negotiators issue another communiqu criticizing the offensive military actions

against the group during the truce period, which they say go against the national mood and contradict the supposed positive valuation that President Santos has

expressed about the unilateral cease-fire. Colombias Prosecutor-Generals Office (Fiscala) launches a criminal investigation

of scar Ivn Zuluaga, President Santoss chief opponent during the 2014 presidential election campaign. Zuluaga, a critic of the FARC peace process, faces suspicions of

working with computer hacker Andrs Seplveda to intercept government

negotiators private communications.

January 19, 2015

Colombias prosecutor-general (fiscal), Eduardo Montealegre, says that according to his legal analysis, a public referendum is not necessary to give legal force to an

eventual peace accord. Chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle responds

that while a referendum may technically not be necessary, President Santos wants the Colombian people to have a say.

De la Calle issues a statement providing an overview of the January 1518 Havana meetings between leaders of the government and FARC negotiating teams, which he

characterizes as planning meetings, not negotiation meetings. He adds, We have never come this far. The information for Colombians is, thus, of moderate optimism. He warns, though, that de-escalating the conflict will require of the FARC more actions oriented toward toward the authentic end of the conflict.

January 18, 2015

After three days of meetings between negotiating teams leaders in Havana, the Colombian government and the FARC agree to postpone the start of the 32nd round

of talks From January 26 to February 2.

January 16, 2015

The Colombia-Europe-United States Coordination, an umbrella organization of 260

non-governmental Colombian human rights groups, issues a statement welcoming the

FARCs announcement of a unilateral cease-fire, the ELNs stated willingness to consider ending its use of arms, and President Santoss instruction to negotiate a bilateral cease-fire with the FARC.

January 15, 2015

Were going to need the armed forces more than ever in the years to come, not just to guarantee peace but to fill spaces where other armed groups may be, says Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon, adding, It is necessary to gather around President Santos in these peace efforts."

We are ready to help, tweets the secretary-general of the Union of South American States (UNASUR), Former Colombian President Ernesto Samper.

January 14, 2015

The unilateral and indefinite cease-fire declared by the FARC has been a step in the right direction, and so farwe have to say itthey have complied, President Santos says in a televised address. I have given instructions to the negotiators that they start, as soon as possible, the discussion on the point of the bilateral and definitive cease-

fire and cessation of hostilities. This statement formally reverses the governments insistence, since the talks launch in 2012, on negotiating without a cease-fire in place.

We are ready for the bilateral cease-fire, responds a statement from FARC

negotiators.

Gen. scar Naranjo, a government negotiator, former National Police chief, and

current minister counselor for Post-Conflict, Human Rights, and Security, explains

that the government expects a cease-fire to involve de-mining, an end to child

recruitment, and the search for disappeared people. A decision to suspend aerial bombings has not yet been made, he adds.

The FARC issues a press release listing alleged offensive military actions in

Antioquia and Meta departments, warning that such actions could provoke the end of the unilateral cease-fire and strain the atmosphere of trust that should surround the

table of conversations.

January 13, 2015

The Broad Front for Peace, a non-governmental group upon whom the FARC called

to verify its unilateral cease-fire, issues a statement calling on the government to cease

offensive attacks, calling FARC reports of recent military actions very concerning.

January 12, 2015

Maximum FARC leader Timolen Jimnez publishes a statement denying that the

guerrilla group is militarily weak and cautioning that a final accord remains far off.

January 11, 2015

The FARC issues a press release listing offensive military actions in Guaviare and

Cauca departments, warning that if such actions continue the guerrillas will rethink

their unilateral cease-fire.

Government and FARC negotiators announce that a 32nd round of talks will begin in

Havana on Monday, January 26.

In his annual address to the Vatican diplomatic corps, Pope Francis salutes the efforts carried out to achieve a stable peace in Colombia.

January 9, 2015

The FARC issues a press release listing offensive military actions in Huila and

Caquet departments, warning that such actions place at risk the guerrillas declared unilateral cease-fire.

January 7, 2015

On the 50th anniversary of its first battle, the ELN releases a series of statements

reflecting conclusions from a conference of the guerrilla groups top leadership. While the guerrillas explicitly state their willingness to abandon arms at some point,

their statements do not indicate that formal talks with the Colombian government are

any closer to beginning. Conflict analysts like Len Valencia, a former ELN leader,

note that the main advance is that for the first time Pablito, head of the groups most powerful faction (the Domingo Lan Front, in Arauca), has clearly joined the

leaderships consensus in favor of negotiating.

January 6, 2015

The FARC issues a press release listing offensive military actions in Choc and

Antioquia departments, warning that if such actions continue the guerrillas will

rethink their unilateral cease-fire.

In a series of tweets, Former President lvaro Uribe cites attacks and extortions

allegedly carried out by FARC guerrillas during the groups unilateral truce.* Former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami, one of the international advisors

with whom President Santos met during the first weekend of the year, tells a

Colombian radio interviewer that a possible first step for conflict de-escalation might

be a halt to the Colombian militarys aerial bombings. Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzn denies that Colombia is considering a halt to aerial bombings, saying that Ben

Ami is a great advisor at the worldwide level, but he is not an authority in Colombia, as simple as that.

January 5, 2015

President Santos hints that the government and guerrillas may be approaching a tacit

cease fire as fighting de-escalates:

[W]e have taken very much into consideration the unilateral and indefinite cease-fire that the FARC declared. And on this point we must recognize that the FARC have

complied. We want to invite the ELN to join the initiative of a unilateral cease-fire, as

the FARC did. Until now, we have followed that maxim made famous by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, where he said that we must negotiate as though the

war or conflict didnt exist, and we had to maintain the military offensive as though the peace process didnt exist. But the advances in the negotiations indicate to us that there are other circumstances now, and that this disconnect is no longer applicable.

The next day, however, President Santos tweets, Instructions to the Armed Forces have not changed. Bilateral cease-fire will be discussed when the appropriate moment

arrives.

We wish to invite the ELN to join this initiative of a unilateral ceasefire like the FARC has done and invite them to reach an agreement as soon as possible on the

agenda points we have been discussing for some time, says President Santos.

January 4, 2015

The insurgency and the state will have to remove the use of arms from politics, and particularly the armed forces will have to go back to their constitutional role of

defending borders, leaving behind the National Security Doctrine and the concept of

an internal enemy, top FARC Eastern Bloc leader Henry Castellanos, alias Romaa, tells an interviewer on the FARC negotiators website.

January 3, 2015

President Santos holds a private series of meetings with the government negotiating

team to take stock of the peace process. They are joined by a small group of foreign

advisors: William Ury, a Harvard University negotiation expert; Joaqun Villalobos, a

former leader of El Salvadors FMLN guerrillas; Jonathan Powell, chief of staff to U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair during Northern Ireland negotiations; and Shlomo

Ben Ami, a former Israeli foreign minister.