As reported last week, leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was prepared to meet with high-ranking representatives of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to negotiate a deal between them and the right-wing Colombian government.

FARC leader Manuel Marulanda had sent a letter to Chavez stating that he was unable to travel to Venezuela, but invited the Venezuelan president to meet him in Colombia. Chavez said he’d be “willing to go into the deepest part of the largest jungle to talk” with FARC. However, Colombia’s peace commissioner, Luis Carlos Restrepo, rejected that proposal, saying that the idea of a face-to-face meeting with the Marxist guerrillas was inappropriate on Colombian soil.

FARC is currently holding 45 prominent hostages, including 3 American defense contractors and former French-Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Meanwhile, the bodies of 11 FARC hostages, all politicians, were recovered during the weekend. Forensic evidence suggests that the men all died of gunshot wounds in June.

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