Colombian Government, Leftist Rebels to Meet in Cuba

Efforts to end nearly half a century of bloody skirmishes

Colombian and FARC rebel negotiators announced they will meet in Cuba in mid-November to start substantive peace talks where they will seek to bring an end to almost half a century of bloody conflict, according to a joint declaration issued in Norway on Thursday.

The talks, which opened in Norway this week, are the latest in a long history of attempts to resolve the war which has left tens of thousands dead and millions displaced from their homes since the establishment of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in 1964.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is betting that a decade of U.S.-backed blows against the FARC has battered the group to the point where it will seriously seek to end the war after so many attempts have ended in shambles.