Enough! Colombians rage against rebel outrages

Tens of thousands of Colombians have protested across the country to demand an end to half a century of guerrilla violence and kidnapping.

Colombia's Farc rebels kill four military hostages

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebels executed four members of the military during a botched mission to free them after a decade as hostages.

Former hostage Betancourt recounts ordeal in new book

Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt has written for the first time about her six-year jungle ordeal.

Colombia says rebels murder kidnapped governor

Colombia said on Tuesday Farc guerrillas slit a state governor's throat hours after they kidnapped him during a brazen raid.

Thai court refuses to extradite 'Merchant of Death'

A Thai court on Tuesday refused to extradite Viktor Bout to the US to face trial on charges of supplying weapons to Colombian rebels.

Colombian troops kill guerrilla commander

Colombian troops have killed a Farc guerrilla commander accused of ordering extortion and bombings around Bogota, said authorities.

Betancourt returning to Columbia to write play

Ingrid Betancourt said in an interview on Sunday she would return to Colombia "in a few days" to write a play about her experience.

Hostages reveal details of 'sadism' and executions

Harrowing details about the captivity of Ingrid Betancourt in Columbia emerged on Friday as doubts surfaced over the official version of their rescue.

Betancourt rescue: 'Like a movie'

It was Ingrid Betancourt's 2 321st day in captivity and it started like any other. At 4am she woke up and prayed to God.

Freed hostage Betancourt recounts bold rescue

High-profile hostage Ingrid Betancourt was shocked when aid workers supposedly transporting her to a new location turned out to be state soldiers.

Govt: Colombia's top Farc commander is dead

The founder and chief commander of Colombia's Farc rebel force, Manuel Marulanda, has died after more than 40 years fighting the state from jungle and mountain camps. If confirmed, the death of Manuel Marulanda, who organised the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas in the 1960s, would be the heaviest blow yet to Latin America's oldest insurgency.

Conflicts using child soldiers drop sharply

The number of conflicts in which child soldiers were involved dropped sharply from 27 in 2004 to 17 at the end of 2007, according to a report on Tuesday by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. But despite the decline, the report said tens of thousands of children remain in the ranks of militias and other armed groups in at least 24 countries.

The devastating price of Britain's cocaine habit

The average cocaine user in Britain probably does not spend too much time thinking about where their drug of choice comes from. If they did, they might reflect on how it travels from South America to the bars, clubs and kitchen tables of the United Kingdom.

Women's Day protests highlight violence, inequality

Calls to end forced marriage, domestic abuse and job discrimination marked International Women's Day on Saturday as demonstrators took to the streets worldwide. The issues highlighted crossed a wide spectrum, including abortion rights in Italy, violence against women in Iraq and women hostages in Colombia.

South American nations end crisis with handshake

The presidents of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela ended a border dispute on Friday with a summit handshake after a week of regional diplomacy in the face of hostile rhetoric and troop build-ups."And with this ... this incident that has caused so much damage [is] resolved," leftist Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said.

Chávez accuses Colombia of war crimes

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez accused his Colombian counterpart of war crimes as Venezuela and Ecuador turned up the heat on Bogotá over its military strike on an insurgent camp inside Ecuador. "A war crime occurred there," Chávez charged late on Wednesday at a joint press conference with Ecuadorian counterpart Rafael Correa.

Venezuela mobilises forces to Colombia border

Venezuela deployed tanks and its air and sea forces toward the Colombian border in its first major military mobilisation in a crisis with Colombia, the country's defence minister said on Wednesday. The move escalates tensions in a dispute over a Colombian weekend raid inside another of its neighbours, Ecuador.

Colombia says Farc wanted to make radioactive bomb

Colombia said on Tuesday that Farc rebels had been planning to make a "dirty bomb" with radioactive material, threatening the entire Latin American region. The charges by Vice-President Francisco Santos marked a dramatic turn in a regional crisis that has seen Venezuela and Ecuador cut diplomatic ties with Colombia.

Colombia accuses Chávez of funding Marxist rebels

Venezuela and Colombia were locked in a tense stand-off on Monday, with explosive accusations levelled against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez a day after he ordered tanks and troops to the border. There was no sign of imminent conflict but the war of words escalated when Colombia accused Chávez of bankrolling Marxist rebels.

Colombia says it kills Farc commander in Ecuador

Colombia's military said on Saturday its troops had killed a top rebel commander in an attack on a jungle camp across the border in Ecuador in a severe blow to Latin America's oldest guerrilla insurgency. Raul Reyes, one of seven members of the secretariat of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, was killed in an operation that included air strikes and fighting with rebels across the border.

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