According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are currently some 220 US military personnel and 400 US military contractors stationed in Colombia, with current agreements between Colombia and the US saying there can be no more than 600 US troops in the country.

American military staff and contractors are assisting the Colombian government to gather intelligence for anti-narcotics operations, training Colombian troops, and helping to conduct field exercises like the aerial fumigation of coca crops, activities that affect the FARC, as this guerrilla group finances itself through the drug trade.

 The guerrillas also said in their communique that they will not negotiate with the Colombian government until it recognizes them as a “belligerent” group.

Colombia´s government, the US, and the European Union currently consider that FARC to be a “terrorist” organization.

The rebels, who have some 7,500 fighters across the country, said they would like to see further hostage exchanges and find ways to “humanize” the conflict, adding that “seeking dialogue” and “finding solutions to the great problems faced by this country,” should not be “considered a concession by anyone.”

Defense experts say that the guerrillas numbers have gone down drastically over the past 8 years, with some analusts affirming their fighting force is half what it was at the beginning of the decade.