BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) -- Marxist rebels blew open the front gates of a
                  prison in southwestern Colombia, allowing 68 inmates -- most of them guerrilla
                  comrades -- to sprint to freedom, in the biggest prison break this year, police
                  said Tuesday.

                  Colombia's oldest and largest guerrilla force, the FARC, was blamed for the
                  dynamite attack late Monday on the Caloto compound, surrounded by mountains
                  in the province of Cauca.

                  The guerrillas, who frequently stage attacks to free their sympathizers, have
                  helped 54 inmates escape this year in two separate assaults on Colombian
                  prisons.

                  The FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, blew up a prison wall
                  in southern Colombia in April, to free 35 prisoners. Rebels liberated another 19
                  when they assaulted a mountain jail in February.

                  The Colombian government is trying to negotiate the release of a number of sick
                  FARC rebels in return for the freedom of police and military personnel held by
                  the guerrillas. But the plan is bitterly opposed by the army, which fears the
                  FARC simply want to recover key personnel.

                  The 37-year-old war continues as peace talks slowly grind on. About 40,000
                  mainly civilian lives have been lost in the last decade alone.

                     Copyright 2001 Reuters.