FARC says not to participate in Colombian presidential election

Colombia's FARC announced Thursday that it would not contest the upcoming presidential elections in May, given the state of health of its leader and presidential candidate.


FARC, or the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force, is a political party spun out of the former guerrilla movement.

In a statement, the FARC said that its candidate, Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, alias "Timochenko," underwent open-heart surgery on Wednesday.

The group said that Timochenko would need several weeks to recover and would not be in fit state to run a campaign.
 (chinamedia)
 9/3/18