The high commissioner of peace, Luis Carlos Restrepo, said that there has “never been talk of an exchange or humanitarian agreement” rather a unilateral decision by the Colombian government that would free captured insurgents being held by the state.

Restrepo, before a Senate committee, firmly backed president Alvaro Uribe’s proposal to liberate around fifty FARC guerrillas that have been detained for their rebellious activities.

Restrepo added that the government “is willing to do what it can do: free guerilla fighters in Colombian jails who have been detained for rebellion and not for serious felonies.” He later added that the FARC should not ask the government to “do what we can’t.”

Translation : C. Hancock