Los Pozos, Colombia — Stoking fears that Colombia's war will enter its bloodiest phase, leftist rebels declared the peace process finished Sunday and prepared to abandon the safe haven that has served as headquarters for three years of negotiations.
Moments before the announcement by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a military warplane circled over the site of the failed peace talks in the hamlet of Los Pozos. Troops massed in military bases across this South American country, and even reservists were called to duty, prepared to retake the guerrilla sanctuary, an area roughly twice the size of New Jersey.
The government ceded the zone to the rebels, known by their Spanish acronym FARC, as a condition to start talks to end Colombia's 38-year civil war and the rebels had pledged to give it back if the talks ended.
President Andres Pastrana, meanwhile, met with armed forces commander Gen. Fernando Tapias at the presidential palace in the capital, Bogota, as well as with a group of diplomats from European and Latin American countries supporting the peace talks.
A U.N. envoy said he and the diplomats were making last-ditch efforts to overcome the impasse.
"Time is running out and there are differences, but I want to say once again that we have found will for peace on both sides," envoy James LeMoyne told reporters after nightfall Sunday.
Three years of talks have only yielded squabbling, and at midnight Saturday Pastrana's patience appeared to have worn out. He ordered the insurgents to come up with a viable peace offer or leave by tonight.
"The ultimatum ... handed down by the president changes everything we have agreed upon during the past three years and thus closes all possibilities for the current process," said Simon Trinidad, a FARC commander. Trinidad did not say exactly when his group would withdraw from the towns in the zone.
However, he said the rebels had been in contact with Fidel Castro, adding the Cuban leader might be able to break the impasse.
The swift turn of events indicates Colombia's 38-year-old civil war which pits the U.S.-backed military and a brutal right-wing paramilitary group against the FARC and smaller guerrilla factions will intensify.
"The next six months are probably going to be the bloodiest we've seen," said Adam Isacson, an analyst with the Center for International Policy in Washington.
Isacson said he didn't expect a big battle to erupt in the safe haven, because the rebels may melt away into the jungle, but he predicted fighting would intensify elsewhere, a fear shared by many Colombians.
"If there is war, it'll hit the whole country, and I won't feel safe just because I live in the city," said Isabel Martinez, a 22-year-old resident of Bogota.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.