Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 10 February 2018

Ex-guerillas suspend political campaigns in Colombia

By C. ARMARIO Polls show many in Co-
Associated Press lombia believe the rebels
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) should be required to con-
— Former combatants with fess their crimes in front of a
Colombia's once largest special peace jurisdiction
rebel group are suspend- before being allowed to run
ing their political campaign for office. But the judicial
activities amid mounting system is not yet hearing
security concerns. cases and the peace deal
Flanked by armed police guarantees ex-combat-
officers, leaders with the ants 10 seats in congress.
Common Alternative Rev- That means the former reb-
olutionary Force political els will be elected in March
party announced Friday congressional elections be-
they will halt campaign fore having testified. Under
events until their safety can the generous terms of the
be sufficiently assured. peace accord, guerrillas
"We call on the govern- who fully confess their of-
ment to ensure the right to fenses are unlikely to serve
political participation," for- any jail time.
mer guerrilla leader Jorge In a tweet Friday, Uribe re-
Torres, known by his alias Former rebel leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, Carlos Antonio Losa- iterated his party’s belief
da, from left, Pablo Catatumbo, and Rodrigo Granda, announce a halt in political campaign
Pablo Catatumbo, said. activities during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, Feb., 9, 2018. that those responsible for
Since launching their cam- (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) atrocious crimes should be
paigns less than two weeks barred from running for of-
ago, the ex-combatants dential contender Rodrigo dent Alvaro Uribe, a vocal weapons, formed their fice or first complete a rea-
have encountered angry Londono, alias Timochen- peace deal critic, are re- political party and begun sonable sentence and ask
mobs and protests, un- ko. Protesters outside a sponsible for the unrest. new lives as civilians. Yet for forgiveness. He added
derscoring the challenges campaign rally for senate They want authorities to even while reaching those that the party rejects vio-
of reconciliation that re- candidate Luciano Marin, hold perpetrators respon- key milestones, the peace lent incidents, “to which we
main in Colombia after the alias Ivan Marquez, burned sible and take steps to pre- deal remains contentious have also been victims.”
signing of a 2016 peace the group's new white flag. vent clashes, like establish- among Colombians who President Juan Manuel
agreement to end Latin Other candidates have ing a wider security cordon. are hesitant to turn a page. Santos is urging Colom-
America's longest-running been followed and threat- "One thing is the right to The five-decade long con- bians to show tolerance
conflict. ened. protest," Marquez told The flict between leftist rebels, as the country’s political
On three occasions, dem- The new politicos contend Associated Press. "Another paramilitary groups and campaigns get underway.
onstrators have hurled that factions of extreme- thing is to commit a crime." government troops left at “Colombia’s society has
eggs and rocks and yelled right groups, some affiliat- Since signing the peace least 250,000 people dead, generated a profound in-
"Murderer!" at former guer- ed with the political party accord, the former reb- another 60,000 missing and tolerance and hate among
rilla commander and presi- founded by former Presi- els have turned over their 7 million displaced. each other. q

Mexico nabs Zetas cartel leader Jose Maria Guizar Valencia

By MARK STEVENSON Guizar Valencia is known trafficking and other activi- over territory in neighboring capos in recent years, and
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Au- by his Zetas code name, "Z ties in southern Mexico. Guatemala. the once fearsome cartel
thorities said Friday they 43." Under a 'Wanted' page "Los Zetas, under the com- has splintered into several
have arrested dual U.S.- The United States had of- online, the U.S. Bureau of mand of Guizar Valencia, factions. Even before that,
Mexican citizen Jose Ma- fered a $5 million reward International Narcotics have murdered an untold the bureau said Guizar Va-
ria Guizar Valencia, the al- for his arrest. and Law Enforcement Af- number of Guatemalan lencia was "considered his
leged leader of the Zetas Sales said Guizar Valencia fairs said Guizar Valencia civilians during the system- own entity, working in con-
drug cartel. was arrested Thursday in is "responsible for the im- atic overtake of the Gua- cert but independently" of
Mexican National Security Mexico City's trendy Roma portation of thousands of temalan border region the main Zetas faction.
Commissioner Renato Sales neighborhood, which is kilograms of cocaine and with Mexico during recent Formed by deserters of an
identified the suspect only known for its restaurants methamphetamine to the years," the bureau said. elite military unit, the Zetas
as "Jose Maria," but a fed- and cafes. United States on a yearly It said Guizar Valencia was are known for indiscrimi-
eral official who was not The commissioner said the basis" and faces separate born in Tulare, California. nate brutality, filling anony-
authorized to be quoted leader was one of the main U.S. drug trafficking indict- The Zetas' leadership has mous graves and roadsides
by name confirmed Guizar generators of violence and ments in Texas and Virginia. been decimated by the with piles of victims' bodies.
Valencia's last name. had directed Zetas' drug It also said he had taken arrest and deaths of main q