The president hasn't seen us for even one minute,'' said Marlen Hernandez, whose son is a captured police officer. The guerrillas receive us very well. It is contradictory, but it is true. Granado offered Guzman a soft drink and the two chatted timidly under a palm-frond shelter that protected them from the tropical sun. The plight of the captured soldiers, so real to the grieving relatives, has been met by indifference among the members of Colombia's circle of power.
Many sectors underestimate the problem, feeling that it is far off.
They see it more as an obstacle to the economic progress of the country than a real threat,'' said Rangel. Results of a Gallup poll of 538 owners or executives of major businesses published in February in El Tiempo revealed an overwhelming desire for peace, but an unwillingness to make concessions to achieve it. Some 67 percent said they would cough up no money, or 5 percent or less of their income, to finance a lasting peace. As hours pass, rebels at the roadblock amuse themselves with small talk, making it clear that they expect to fight as long as needed. My cousin, he was a guerrilla in the 15th Front.