DNA results confirm the identity of boy born in captivity

DNA results confirm the suspicions that the boy also known as "Juan David Gómez" and held in the custody of Colombian child welfare officials since 2005 is actually Emmanuel, the son of Clara Rojas. What is most damaging to the FARC's veneer of legitimacy is that he was to be one of the hostages released by the insurgents in mid-December.

In its statement released on Friday, the FARC charges that they had given the boy to "honorable" individuals in Bogota while the humanitarian accord was being worked out. The statement also asserts that "public opinion, both nationally and internationally, understands that Emmanuel could not remain in the middle of the combat operations of Plan Patriótica, including the bombings and combat and the eventualities of the jungle." The group says that the boy had been placed under the care of trusted individuals but was later abducted by President Uribe.

Political analyst Alfredo Rangel said Friday, "the FARC has recognized that they unsuccessfully attempted to deceive the national and international public opinion by wanting to hand over a hostage that was not in their custody." Ex-Commissioner for Peace Camilo Gómez added, "Ironically, it is a child that has done the most harm to the FARC. Who is going to believe them now?"

The fact that the FARC now accuses Uribe of sabotaging the release of hostages Clara Rojas, Emmanuel, and Consuelo Gonzalez, demonstrates just how the group is increasingly determined, and some might even say desperate, to improve its standing before public opinion and negotiate a political solution to the decades-long conflict. The conflict cannot be sustained indefinitely and is likely to end in a negotiated settlement. And rather than rushing to negotiate with the group, President Uribe has instead taken a "tit-for-tat" approach to negotiating with the FARC. Unlike past administrations that have approached the negotiating table prematurely, Uribe instead uses the intensification of military pressure to induce the negotiation process. The FARC has experienced significant losses in the past seven years and some analysts point out that the group is living on borrowed time. This latest debacle involving Clara Rojas and her son Emmanuel has undermined the strength of Hugo Chavez as a competent and reliable mediator and the FARC as a potentially trustworthy negotiating partner. The group has also lost a valuable face-saving opportunity to move towards the negotiating table, therefore look for the insurgents and Colombian armed forces to intensify their military incursions in 2008.