Chavez pushes Colombia rebels closer to talks

By Patrick Markey - Analysis

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's weakened Marxist rebels are under increasing pressure to negotiate after their closest political ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, urged their new leader to seek talks to end a four-decade-old war.

Chavez, a socialist, has pressed the European Union and the United States to stop labelling the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, as "terrorists" to help spur peace talks.

But on Sunday he stressed that Latin America's oldest insurgency should take the initiative and unconditionally release all its hostages.

"The time has come for the FARC to release everyone," Chavez said in a call to the rebel leadership. "At this point in time, an armed guerrilla conflict is out of place ... Guerrilla wars are history."

His comments were welcomed by the U.S. government that he often rails against. "Those are certainly good words," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Monday. "And we would encourage Venezuela to follow those good words with concrete actions."

Chavez's blunt appeal seized on a rare chance for talks after the announcement two weeks ago that the FARC's founder and leader, Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda, had died and been replaced by a commander considered to be more open to dialogue.

FARC guerrillas remain a potent force financed with funds from the cocaine trade and they have stubbornly resisted government conditions for talks, but they are increasingly isolated, under pressure from President Alvaro Uribe's U.S.-backed security campaign.

Marulanda's death, apparently from a heart attack, came shortly after two others from the FARC's seven-man leadership were killed -- one in a military raid on his camp in Ecuador and another betrayed and shot to death by a bodyguard.

"They have lost the last bubble of oxygen they had," said Alfredo Rangel, an analyst at Bogota's Security and Democracy think tank. "The FARC are under more pressure now that their only ally has taken away that political support."

Chavez directed his message live on TV directly to the FARC's new top commander, Alfonso Cano, who analysts say could face resistance from the hard-line military wing if he pushes for peace negotiations.

Predictions of the FARC's collapse have proven wrong many times in the past, but its sudden, high-profile problems raise the possibility of an end for a movement that at its height exploded bombs in cities, held sway over much of Colombia and had 17,000 fighters -- almost double its current force.

VENEZUELAN ROLE IN PEACE?

Chavez's attempts to intervene in Colombia's conflict have already fuelled tensions with Uribe, who has been the staunchest backer of Washington's trade and anti-drugs initiatives in contrast to the Venezuelan leader's fierce anti-U.S. position.

Colombia says computer files found at the camp of a slain rebel commander show Chavez provided support to the FARC. He dismisses the charges, although analysts say he may be seeking to ward off fallout from the accusations.

In January, Chavez brokered the release of six rebel-held hostages, the first in years.