The Latest: Colombia tribunal orders 4 FARC leaders arrested
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The latest on the decision of former rebel leaders to return to arms in Colombia (all times local):
8:10 p.m.
Colombia's peace tribunal has ordered the arrest of four rebel leaders who appeared in a video Thursday pledging to resume their insurgency.
A tribunal statement says that Luciano Marín, the former chief negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, and top allies who appeared alongside him while heavily armed immediately lost their benefits under the 2016 peace deal on ending a half-century of bloody fighting.
Under terms of the accord, rebels who confess their war crimes and compensate victims are spared jail sentences and protected from extradition to the U.S.
The rebels said they were taking up arms again because the conservative government of President Ivan Duque isn't upholding the accord and stood by as hundreds of leftists and 150 demobilized rebels were slain the past three years.
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1:50 p.m.
Colombia's President Iván Duque is accusing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of providing safe haven to a cadre of demobilized rebel leaders who have just announced they are rearming.
Duque also says he's offering a nearly $1 million reward for the arrest of the insurgents, who include the former chief negotiator of a 2016 deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
In a televised address Thursday, Duque accused Maduro of sheltering the rebels in violation of anti-terrorism resolutions promoted by the United Nations Security Council.
He also said he spoke with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who pledged his support hunting down the rebels.
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11:30 a.m.
The top peace negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia says he and a cadre of hardline supporters are taking up arms again. They accuse President Iván Duque of failing to uphold the accord that sought to end a half century of bloody fighting.
In a newly released video, Luciano Marin appears alongside some 20 heavily armed insurgents dressed in camouflaged fatigues and condemns the conservative Duque for standing by as hundreds of leftist activists and rebels have been killed since demobilizing as part of the peace deal.
The man known by his nom de guerre of Iván Márquez says "the state hasn't fulfilled its most important obligation, which is to guarantee the life of its citizens."
