FARC leaders ‘welcome in Venezuela’: Maduro

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Venezuela's president said two former FARC fugitive leaders whose whereabouts are unknown are "welcome in Venezuela."

Nicolas Maduro praised Ivan Marquez and Jesus Santrich at the closing ceremony Sunday of the Sao Paulo Forum in Caracas -- a conference of 48 leftist political parties and other organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean.

“[Colombia] had announced that Ivan Marquez and Jesus Santrich were coming, and I was left waiting," Maduro said, referring to a suggestion of Colombian President Ivan Duque.

"Ivan Marquez and Jesus Santrich are welcome in Venezuela and at the Sao Paulo Forum, the two of them are leaders of peace," he added.

Maduro also opened the doors for two other FARC leaders, Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, also known as Timochenko, and Pablo Catatumbo.

Colombia and FARC reached a peace deal in November 2016, ending more than 50 years of conflict between the two sides. Following the demobilization of the leftist rebel group, Marquez and Santrich joined the political arm of the FARC, which is represented in the country’s Congress.

Marquez went missing last year after his nephew was arrested for drug-trafficking. Santrich is fugitive following his failure to appear for questioning about U.S. drug-trafficking charges.

Tension escalated between two neighbors after Colombia joined the U.S. and most of the Latin American countries to recognize Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido as the oil-rich country's rightful president and dismiss Maduro’s 2018 re-election as a fraud.

- Sao Paulo Forum shows solidarity with Maduro

The Sao Paulo Forum voiced full solidarity for the "legitimate" leader, Maduro, in the group's final declaration.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel reiterated its support for Maduro at the closing ceremony of the three-day forum.

"Here we are to accompany the Venezuelan heroic resistance and demand an end to the brutal siege imposed on it," he said, "Today, Venezuela is the first trench of the struggle against imperialism."

Political unrest has been ongoing in Venezuela between Maduro and Guaido since Jan. 10.