Colombia's military fanned out through the jungles of the country's north-west on Monday in the hunt for a general whose kidnap by presumed leftist Farc rebels has put two years of peace talks in limbo.
At least 60 other living Farc members – including the top tier of the negotiating team in Havana – have been indicted in the United States on charges ranging from drug trafficking to the kidnapping and killing of US citizens.
His role, in part, is to help the government reach a deal with the rebels by explaining US policy to the Farc.
The men - Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley - are currently awaiting trial in Colombia for travelling on false passports and for allegedly training Marxist Farc rebels.
Colombia's president, Juan Manuel Santos, has suspended peace talks with leftist Farc rebels following the kidnapping of a general in a remote jungle region, putting the future of the process to end the country's 50-year-old war in jeopardy.
"The Farc need constant reassuring because they are very, very mistrustful," Shifter says.
There is no love lost between the Farc and the US: Washington put the guerrilla group on its list of terrorist organizations in 1997 and poured billions of dollars of military aid into a campaign to defeat them.
Farc has been increasing its activities, including the killing of two unarmed members of the Nasa indigenous community and last week the capture of two soldiers after combat.
The Farc negotiators in Havana did not respond to requests for comment on Monday on the suspension of the talks and the general's abduction but announced they would make a statement on Tuesday.
"The Farc need to understand that peace is not achieved by stepping up their violent actions," he said.
Gen Rubén Darío Alzate, who heads the Titan task force in the Pacific department of Chocó, was taken on Sunday afternoon by members of the Farc, along with another military official and a civilian, in a small village close to the provincial capital of Quibdó.
