On 3 March this year, five non-commissioned officers (NCOs) in the Colombian Army finished eight years detention in the hands of FARC, captured after an attack in the region of Caquete (south of Colombia) that caused the death of 65 soldiers at the very time when a Tribunal has just ordered compensation to the families of two of these victims. The judgement of the Council of State is of the opinion that the death of the soldiers was due " to a mistake on the army's part whereby orders had not been followed, where there had been tactical and operation failures based on mistaken logistics".

This judgement shows moreover that there had been an excess of confidence and a lack of strategy in confronting the attack by subversives.

The judgement was announced on the anniversary of the attack, which happened on 3 March 1998 at El Billar, near Cartagena in Chairá.

The decision of the Tribunal has been accepted by the State who must pay compensation to the families of soldiers Rigoberto Grajales and Jáider Lune who died in the attack. Compensation details have not been revealed.

In this attack, besides the 65 victims, 20 military were seriously injured and kidnapped. FARC subsequently freed all the soldiers and detained only 5 NCOs in custody.

These NCOs are part of a group of 58 people, among them Ingrid Betancourt, Clara Rojas, some politicians, military, and 3 Americans whom FARC claim they wish to exchange for 500 rebels held in prison.

A month ago, FARC announced the death in captivity of police captain Julian Ernesto Guevara, following an undisclosed illness, according to them, who had been captured seven years previously