December 7, 2005: Only the FARC has resisted making peace, mainly because many of the FARC factions, and members of the senior leadership, are reluctant to give up the lucrative illegal drug business they have gotten into over the last decade. FARC has about 15,000 gunmen on the payroll, but is taking a beating from plummeting public approval, and growing effectiveness among the army and police units.

December 6, 2005: The ELN rebels have agreed to peace talks, and these will begin on December 12th in Cuba. FARC has about 4,000 members, is more into Marxism than the leftist FARC, and is caught between hostile FARC and AUC gangs, and the government security forces.

December 1, 2005: About 45 percent of the 20,000 AUC rebels have disarmed, including several hundred who just gave up in the coffee growing region. Some AUC factions have resisted disarmament, but the growing effectiveness of the police and army has forced the reluctant factions to back down.

November 30, 2005: Venezuela is spending two billion dollars to buy 10 C-295 transport planes, two CN-235 patrol planes, and eight patrol boats from Spain. The U.S. is threatening to stop the sale, because some of the aircraft contain American military technology. Spain is trying to overcome that resistance by offering four second hand helicopters to Colombia, for free, and a deep discount for some second hand patrol aircraft.