Bogota - Colombia's peace talks plunged into crisis yesterday when the army found the wife of the country's attorney general shot dead a week after she was believed kidnapped by left-wing FARC guerrillas.
After soldiers found the body of Ms Consuelo Araujo, President Andres Pastrana called off planned meetings with the rebels set for yesterday when he had been expected to announce the extension of the life of a FARC-controlled enclave, officials said.
Authorities said Ms Araujo (56), who was Mr Pastrana's former culture minister, was seized by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - known by the Spanish initials FARC - early last week near the northern city of Valledupar. Her body, with two bullet wounds, was found in a nearby rural district by an army unit which had been trying to rescue her, the army said. She was married to Attorney General Edgardo Maya.