President Juan Manuel Santos is moving quickly on two fronts to save a peace deal narrowly rejected by Colombian voters, holding talks in Cuba with leftist rebels while inviting his chief opponent for a rare face-to-face meeting. Government officials led by chief negotiator Humberto de la Calle met with their counterparts from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on Tuesday in Cuba's capital to check on the rebels' willingness to reopen negotiations. Shortly after Santos announced he was extending the cease-fire, rebel leader Timochenko tweeted: "And after that the war continues?" If Santos needs the FARC's support to prevent the peace deal from collapsing, both parties need the help of the man who led the campaign against the accord: former President Alvaro Uribe. Santos was defense minister under Uribe, when they joined forces with the U.S. to beat back the rebels, and Uribe helped elect him president.

Source: ABC News October 04, 2016 21:19 UTC