Colombia says rebel chief has been to Cuba for peace talks

Colombian guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londono has made secret government-authorized trips to Cuba several times in the last year to meet with his team of negotiators as part of peace talks to end 50 years of civil war, Colombian officials said on Thursday.

Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon confirmed persistent rumors about Londono showing up in Havana, saying he has been there at "different times".

A senior military intelligence source told Reuters that Londono, whose nom de guerre is "Timochenko", has gone to Havana several times on non-commercial flights from Venezuela, where Colombian sources say he has been hiding for years.

If true, it suggests Londono is guiding talks from the front instead of staying in a remote jungle hideout, lending a more serious tone to the negotiations between his Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the government.

http://news.yahoo.com/colombia-says-rebel-chief-cuba-peace-talks-013258545.html