LOS POZOS, Colombia (AP) -- The aging leader of Colombia's largest
                  leftist rebel group attended peace talks Friday in a southern jungle, his first
                  appearance at the negotiation table since the peace process restarted last
                  year.

                  Manuel Marulanda Velez, head of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
                  Colombia, or FARC, met face to face with government representatives for
                  two hours in this remote jungle about 300 kilometers (185 miles) south of
                  the capital of Bogota.

                  Marulanda, believed to be in his mid-70s, had little to say to reporters, but
                  his mere presence could bode well for the negotiations, which have yielded
                  few results since beginning a year ago.

                  "I think it's very important that Marulanda is here because it's a ratification of
                  the FARC's political will to keep seeking, through dialogue and negotiation,
                  a solution to the conflict," said government negotiator Fabio Valencia.

                  The FARC is one of two main rebel groups that have been fighting the
                  Colombian state for nearly four decades. The conflict has killed an estimated
                  30,000 people.

                  Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was scheduled to
                  arrive Friday in the northern Colombian port city of Cartagena to promote a
                  $1.3 proposed aid package to assist Colombia's counternarcotics efforts.

                  Many Colombians say the aid will also be used to fight rebels, since the
                  FARC earns much of its money through taxing drug producing crops.

                  Surrounded by a phalanx of female bodyguards, Marulanda smiled broadly
                  before boarding a purple utility vehicle en route to his jungle hideout located
                  in a vast swath of territory evacuated by the army as a concession to peace.