Colombia guerrilla group’s leaders break with peace deal

BOGOTA, Colombia — Former senior leaders of Colombia’s largest guerrilla group announced a break with the 2016 peace accord that ended Latin America’s longest war, appearing in green fatigues, toting rifles and declaring a “new chapter” in the armed struggle against a government they said had betrayed the deal.

In a video posted online early Thursday, the former lead negotiator for the FARC — the leftist guerrilla group that became a political party in the aftermath of the deal — denounced the failure of the government, now led by conservative President Ivan Duque, to live up to the promises of the accord.

Luciano Marin — known by the nom de guerre Ivan Marquez — stood among a group of 20 heavily armed FARC members, including other prominent leaders, and condemned the killing in the past two years of more than 500 left-wing community leaders and 150 former fighters.

“The state has not fulfilled its most important obligations, which is to guarantee the life of its citizens and especially avoid assassinations for political reasons,” Marin said. He said his group would fight for a government that upholds the peace process.

Duque announced a reward of $100,000 for tips leading to the capture of the people in the video. He said the Colombian army was well-equipped to find them.

“Colombia doesn’t accept threats from anyone, much less from drug traffickers,” he said in a televised address from the presidential palace. “This group of delinquents means to mock the Colombian people, and we won’t permit it.”

Colombia wasn’t confronting a new insurgency, Duque said, just a “band of criminals.” He accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of giving them refuge in Venezuela.

Rodrigo Londono, the former supreme leader of FARC who now heads its political party, rejected the move by his former ally. He said more than 90 percent of ex-guerillas remain committed to the peace process.

“Our commitment today more than ever, as a majority, as a party, as a country, is peace, defense and compliance with the agreement,” Londono tweeted. “Those who move away from peace are mistaken.”