The government of Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos continues peace negotiations with Marxist guerrilla group FARC; however, the armed rebel group has made an admission of culpability that brings peace closer to a reality for the beleaguered South American nation.

The Colombian government and FARC have moved closer to peace after FARC admitted its military actions have impacted civilians throughout the more than fifty years of war, according to the BBC. The peace talks began in November 2013 and are held in Havana.

"We are expressly responsible for all acts of war carried out by our units," said FARC leader Pablo Atrato in the guerrilla's first ever admission of culpability.

"We explicitly recognise that our actions have affected civilians at different times and under different circumstances throughout the conflict, Atrato continued, adding that the group would "assume the responsibility that concerns us."

However, the Marxist guerrilla added that the U.S. government should also take responsibility for its actions in the internal conflict.

"We call on the United States to accept main responsibility for the origin, persistence, expansion, escalation and intensification of the different phases and facets of the conflict, with the resulting process of systematic abuse for the victims," said FARC commander Luis Eliecer Rueda during a press conference at the talks.

The U.S. has supplied billions of dollars worth of military hardware to Colombia in an attempt to battle FARC and drug traffickers, which led to continued fighting.

According to Colombia Reports, the U.S. has used the Monroe Doctrine and later the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty) of 1947 to interfere in Latin American affairs. During the Cold War, the U.S. supported right wing governments in attempts to quell suspected Communist movements, including FARC. Later, as the War on Drugs escalated, the U.S. funded anti-drug trafficking operations in Colombia.

The Associated Press explains the talks are now in their fourth phase, which concerns reparations for war victims, having agreed in the previous three phases: ending the illicit drug trade; agricultural reform; and the rebels' legal participation in politics after an agreement is reached. The fifth and six planks remain.