BOGOTA (Reuters) – The Colombian general whose brief capture by Marxist FARC rebels prompted President Juan Manuel Santos to suspend peace talks resigned his from post yesterday, saying he should have taken more security precautions.
Santos halted negotiations after the capture of General Ruben Dario Alzate and two companions by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and refused to resume talks until the three hostages and two other soldiers, taken in a separate incident, were freed. The two soldiers were liberated last week, while Alzate and his companions, a corporal and a civilian lawyer, were freed on Sunday after a two-week imprisonment.
Dario Alzate
“For love and respect of our military institution, which has been affected by these events, I have asked the national government to withdraw me from active service,” Alzate said in a televised statement.
Government negotiators are returning to Cuba, where talks are being held, for a two-day meeting with their FARC counterparts, though talks have not officially been resumed.
Alzate and his companions were captured on November 16 on their way to visit a wind energy project in the violent coastal department of Choco, the general said.
In an effort to keep a low profile and put community members at ease, Alzate went on the trip in civilian clothes and without his security detail.