Colombians pin hopes on new agency seeking missing war victims - Reuters

A new agency tasked with finding tens of thousands of Colombians who have disappeared over 51 years of war is a ray of hope for families, but will need political power and plenty of resources to be successful, advocacy groups say.

Negotiators at peace talks between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels agreed last week to create a special unit to search for the missing once a final deal is signed.

The effort may finally provide answers about the disappeared, whose cases are often caught up in a complex bureaucracy, but it will need political bite, victims organizations said.

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Colombia, rebels reach deal to search for thousands missing in war - Reuters

The Colombian government and leftist FARC rebels have agreed to two measures they say will help find tens of thousands of people who have disappeared during 50 years of war, as the two sides take the final steps toward a peace deal.

The agreement, reached late Saturday, addresses a key issue at the negotiations, which reached a major breakthrough in September when then two sides vowed to sign a deal by March.

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An end to Colombia’s war seems close — except in rebel territory - Washington Post

ESPERANZA, Colombia  — Maybe someday, if the truce holds, the covered soccer pitch in this mountain town will become something of a memorial, the precise hilltop spot where Colombian rebels launched their last major attack in a half-century civil war.

JOSH PARTLOW

JOSH PARTLOW

For now, it’s Hugo Rendon’s job to make the world forget. So the foreman is pouring new concrete where 11 Colombian soldiers were slaughtered as they bivouacked that rainy night in April. He’ll be replacing the sheet-metal roof that has so many bullet holes it looks like a planetarium. There will be new bathrooms and a snack bar.

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Colombian rebels could escape extradition in peace deal - Reuters

A breakthrough in talks between Colombia's government and Marxist guerrillas has raised hopes for a peace deal within six months and it may mean rebel leaders will avoid being extradited to face drug trafficking charges in the United States.

REUTERS

REUTERS

President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group agreed on Wednesday to create special courts to try former combatants including guerrillas and also vowed to sign a peace deal by March to end five decades of war.

The thorny issue of extradition has not been resolved, however.

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Colombia and Venezuela recall ambassadors amid border crisis - Reuters

Venezuela and Colombia each recalled their ambassadors to the other country on Thursday, amid a diplomatic crisis sparked when socialist-run Venezuela closed two border crossings and deported over a thousand Colombians.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro shut the crossings last week after a shootout between smugglers and troops wounded three soldiers. He later extended the closing indefinitely and has characterized the deportations as a crackdown on paramilitary gangs.

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