Petro's hard-fought victory in June elections brought Colombia, long ruled by a conservative elite, into an expanding left-wing fold in Latin America.
Petro has promised to raise taxes on the rich, invest in health care and education, and reform the police after a brutal crackdown on anti-inequality protests last year.
"What I request is a ceasefire that will be bilateral," to allow for talks "to bring an end to the war in Colombia," President-elect Gustavo Petro tells the South American country's last active guerrilla group.
Gustavo Petro, a former guerilla, who fought against the Colombian government in the past, will now lead the South American country.
Pre-vote polls show former rebel Gustavo Petro ahead so far as Colombians vote for their next leader in a country facing rising poverty and insecurity.
Ex-guerrilla member Gustavo Petro leads the field to become the next president of Colombia, with leftist candidates projected to win most seats in the Senate.
A bombardment by government forces killed 23 dissident members of the demobilised Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, including commander Jorge Eliecer Jimenez, known as Arturo.
Biden administration reportedly notifies Congress to remove ex-rebels from banned list ahead of fifth anniversary of their peace deal with Colombia government.
Colombia had offered a reward of up to about $800,000 (3 billion pesos) for information concerning Otoniel's whereabouts, while the US government had put up a reward of $5 million for help locating him.
By cracking down on FARC dissidents, Caracas aims to co-opt the guerrillas as loyalist proxies it can wield as a foreign policy tool.
This is the first time in 20 years that a Colombian leader has come under attack in a country that's struggling to contain rebel groups.
Protests began last week in opposition to a now-cancelled tax reform plan but demonstrators have expanded their demands to include government action to tackle poverty, police violence and inequality in the health and education systems.
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