Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos would agree that members of the FARC will not be extradited to any other country to stand trial as part of a peace deal with the country’s largest rebel group, newswire Reuters reported Monday.
Details of the unconfirmed negotiations are currently being worked out but media report that the talks will be held in Cuba or Norway.
Reuters noted that U.S. president Barack Obama is aware of the talks and supports them.
Colombia’s second biggest guerrilla group, the ELN is also willing to engage in peace talks, but refuses to end criminal activity before starting negotiations.
The FARC have been in operation since 1964 and have never reached a lasting ceasefire. Former president Andres Pastrana gave the FARC a safe haven in 1998 to promote talks but the guerrillas created a sanctuary the size of Switzerland with airstrips, prison camps and training camps for soldiers.
Former president Alvaro Uribe has been vocal in his condemnation of entering negotiations with the guerrillas and has criticized Santos for wanting “peace at any cost.”
