Colombian military delegation to meet with FARC rebels in Cuba for talks

A high-level Colombian military delegation traveled to Cuba Thursday to meet with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels for peace talks, President Juan Manuel Santos told reporters.

Gen. Javier Florez, head of the Joint Chief of Staff of the military forces, led the four-man delegation, which also includes three colonels from the army, air force and national police, and is expected to meet with members of the FARC this weekend in Havana, the capital of Cuba, where the peace talks are being held.

Florez and the rebels are to discuss the mechanisms for a definitive bilateral ceasefire and disarming the insurgents.

"It is clear and makes sense for the armed forces to play a role in ending the conflict, because ... for the first time in 50 years of fighting there's going to be a discussion of a definitive ceasefire, a definitive stop to the fighting, the laying down of arms," said Santos, noting that "the commission is of the highest level."

The Colombian government and the FARC have reached deals on three points of the six-point peace agenda: eliminating illicit drug trafficking, land reforms and political engagement with rebel groups.

The other points left to address are disarmament and the mechanism by which the final peace deal will be adopted.

How to compensate the victims is one of the most complex issues since both the Colombian government and the guerrilla group have admitted responsibility in the armed conflict, which has left about 220,000 dead and more than 5 million people displaced.

During the 27th round of negotiations, both sides agreed to form a subcommittee to start profiling related points to end longest-running armed conflict in Latin America.

Founded in 1964, the FARC is the largest rebel group in Colombia and has about 8,000 fighters.