The general whose capture by rebels has put Colombia’s peace talks on hold is one of the country’s foremost counterinsurgency strategists who once received his officer’s insignia from the hands of U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus.
People who know Gen. Ruben Dario Alzate describe him as a studious man who sees himself as part of a new generation of Colombian military officers committed to using social projects to win the hearts and minds of poor communities in the battle against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
