Colombia's president and the head of the FARC rebel group were headed to Cuba on Wednesday in a push to end Latin America's oldest guerrilla war.
"Peace is near," President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter, announcing the surprise trip to Havana, where his government has been in peace talks with the FARC for nearly three years.
A source in the FARC delegation in Havana who asked not to be identified said the rebel group's leader, Timoleon Jimenez, also was going to Havana to meet with Santos, Cuban President Raul Castro and the negotiating teams.
The meeting was set for 5:00 pm local time (2100 GMT), the rebel source said.
Santos said his trip to Havana was "for a key meeting with negotiators with the objective of accelerating the end of the conflict," which has been running for a half-century.
Both sides have reported progress in resolving one of the most difficult issues of the peace talks -- how to bring to justice guerrillas who lay down their arms.
"Justice is at the heart of the peace negotiations and with an agreement on that issue, the dream of building a country in peace begins to become a reality," the president's office said in a statement.
The FARC had said on September 11 that the parties were "at the doors" to an agreement on the justice issue.
The apparent breakthrough comes on the heels of a visit to Cuba by Pope Francis, who warned Sunday that Colombia could not afford "yet another failure in peace talks" and called for "definitive reconciliation."
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) took up arms against the government in 1964.
The armed conflict that followed has drawn in right-wing paramilitary groups, drug trafficking organizations as well as government troops and guerrilla forces.
More than 220,000 people have lost their lives, and some six million others were uprooted in the course of the violence.
The FARC, the largest of two leftist guerrilla groups, still has an estimated 7,000 fighters under arms.
Colombia’s president and the head of the FARC rebel group were headed to Cuba on Wednesday in a push to end Latin America’s oldest guerrilla war.
“Peace is near,” President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter, announcing the surprise trip to Havana, where his government has been in peace talks with the FARC for nearly three years.
A source in the FARC delegation in Havana who asked not to be identified said the rebel group’s leader, Timoleon Jimenez, also was going to Havana to meet with Santos, Cuban President Raul Castro and the negotiating teams.
The meeting was set for 5:00 pm local time (2100 GMT), the rebel source said.
Santos said his trip to Havana was “for a key meeting with negotiators with the objective of accelerating the end of the conflict,” which has been running for a half-century.
Both sides have reported progress in resolving one of the most difficult issues of the peace talks — how to bring to justice guerrillas who lay down their arms.
“Justice is at the heart of the peace negotiations and with an agreement on that issue, the dream of building a country in peace begins to become a reality,” the president’s office said in a statement.
The FARC had said on September 11 that the parties were “at the doors” to an agreement on the justice issue.
The apparent breakthrough comes on the heels of a visit to Cuba by Pope Francis, who warned Sunday that Colombia could not afford “yet another failure in peace talks” and called for “definitive reconciliation.”
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) took up arms against the government in 1964.
The armed conflict that followed has drawn in right-wing paramilitary groups, drug trafficking organizations as well as government troops and guerrilla forces.
More than 220,000 people have lost their lives, and some six million others were uprooted in the course of the violence.
The FARC, the largest of two leftist guerrilla groups, still has an estimated 7,000 fighters under arms.
