Colombian High Commissioner for Peace Luis Carlos Restrepo warned March 4 that disarmament and peace negotiations between the government of President Alvaro Uribe Velez and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary umbrella organization are at risk of collapse . Restrepo blamed the impasse on the refusal of AUC chieftains Carlos Castano, Salvatore Mancuso and others to concentrate more than 13,000 paramilitaries in a single area so the disarmament process could accelerate. Uribe wants AUC leaders to concentrate all of their fighters into one area the Colombian army is protecting from rebel attacks. Colombian government negotiators insist this would facilitate the talks, ensure the disarmament process succeeds and protect AUC fighters from attack. AUC leaders are many things — killers, human rights violators, drug traffickers, gasoline smugglers, even patriots — but whatever they might be, they are not fools.