Colombia wary after peace talks fail

Security has been stepped up in the wake of the talks freeze

The Colombian military is on alert for a possible retaliation by left-wing rebels to the government's decision to call off talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN).

President Andres Pastrana announced the talks freeze on Tuesday, saying the rebels had raised new demands and rejected government proposals.

Car bombs and kidnappings are a feature of Colombia's unrest

The ELN has not yet reacted to Mr Pastrana's speech, but such actions by the government in the past have been met with mass kidnappings, attacks against oil and electrical and road blockades by rebels.

Unofficial talks had been taking place in neighbouring Venezuela between representatives of the government and the ELN, Colombia's second largest rebel force.

Security alert

Interior Minister Armando Estrada said security measures were being intensified to ensure that the violence does not escalate.

Mr Pastrana had promised to end the 37-year old guerrilla war before leaving office next year.

I thought it was still possible to find a way out and not close the process definitively

Maria Emma Mejia, mediator

Since 1998, the government has also been trying to persuade the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to lay down their weapons, but correspondents say there has been little progress.

More than 40,000 people, mainly civilians, have lost their lives in the past decade alone.

Mr Pastrana made his announcement in a surprise, strongly-worded televised address to the nation on Tuesday.

He called the ELN rebels "obstinate" and unwilling to "advance towards a peace process".

The government has been talking to FARC rebels for two years to little avail

Correspondents say the ELN has recently suffered losses on the battlefield, raising hopes that it would be more willing to reach a peace deal.

The government had offered to cede a demilitarised zone to the ELN, as it has done with the FARC, but it seems the rebels were not satisfied.

Formal peace talks taking place in Europe had also been suggested.

Political benefit

ELN commander Antonio Garcia said last week that the president was using the negotiations for his own political benefit.

A peace mediator has called the announcement "unfortunate".

Former Foreign Minister Maria Emma Mejia said: "I thought it was still possible to find a way out and not close the process definitively."

Both the ELN and FARC say that Mr Pastrana has not done enough to curb the activities of the right-wing paramilitaries who are often accused of violating human rights.

FARC and the paramilitaries are also accused of profiting from Colombia's enormous trade in cocaine and heroin.