Word: betancur
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...unconditional declaration of war that Colombian President Belisario Betancur Cuartes issued from the pulpit of the cathedral in Neiva earlier this month. He had walked to the cathedral behind the flag-draped coffin of his slain Justice Minister, Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, 37. "There will be no truce for the narcotics traffickers," Betancur vowed, his voice trembling with emotion. "There will be punishment without mercy." The mourners broke into applause when the President declared, "The international drug criminals will see us standing proudly before a homeland that stands united in repudiation...
...jungle below. This time, however, the flag signified the making of history, not war. In a small clearing in the Alto de la Mesa rain forest, F.A.R.C. guerrillas and the government's representatives met to sign a momentous eleven-point cease-fire agreement. Last week Colombian President Belisario Betancur Cuartas triumphantly announced on national television his government's formal acceptance of that pact...
...throughout the countryside. Armed with modern weapons, pro-Communist F.A.R.C. has proved a match for the 65,000-man Colombian army, which it has been fighting for the past 28 years. The government hopes the new cease-fire arrangement will encourage other militant factions to enter into similar agreements. Betancur, a co-founder of the Contadora group that has been trying to bring peace to Central America, also believes that the pact with F.A.R.C. demonstrates that negotiations are a workable alternative to a military solution for problems in Central and South America...
...when delegates from the Salvadoran Peace Commission and from the five-faction guerrilla movement that opposes the government emerged from the negotiating chamber nearly 3 ½ hours later, the sense of relief was almost palpable. "The door is open for future meetings," said a smiling Colombian President Belisario Betancur as he posed with the seven Salvadorans. "The dialogue for peace in El Salvador has been directly initiated." But when asked to give a thumbs-up, thumbs-down verdict on the session, Peace Commission President Francisco Quiñónez evasively thrust his thumb sideways. Later, he described the meeting...
Stone tried but failed to meet with Salvadoran rebels in Costa Rica last month. This time the successful go-between was Colombian President Belisario Betancur Cuartas. The setting was the austerely modern living room of the presidential palace in Bogotá. Betancur first greeted Stone, then introduced him to Zamora and withdrew from the room. What the two men said during the next 90 minutes is not known, but both sides subsequently hinted that another meeting, involving several other Salvadoran leftist leaders, may take place later this month...