BOGOTA , Colombia ( CNN ) -- Colombian police foiled a plot by Marxist guerrillas to assassinate the nation 's defense minister , according to President Alvaro Uribe . Colombian President Alvaro Uribe says authorities foiled an assassination plot against the country 's defense chief . Ten guerrillas dressed as police planned to infiltrate the family farm of Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos over Easter week and kill the official and his family , Uribe said Thursday on national television . The guerrillas , who belong to the FARC , the Spanish acronym for Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia , were captured , Uribe said . Uribe thanked and congratulated federal authorities , saying , `` This investigation had been proceeding for several months , and fortunately the National Police has dealt this well-placed blow . '' Police Director Oscar Naranjo said eight of the guerrillas were captured at a property near Santos ' farm in the municipality of Anapoima , 54 miles ( 87 kilometers ) from Bogota , the capital . Officials did not reveal where the other two guerillas were captured . The FARC , the largest and oldest guerrilla group in Colombia , has been waging war against the government since the 1960s . Security analysts have said the FARC has about 9,000 to 12,000 armed guerillas and several thousand supporters , mostly in rural areas . The guerrilla group operates mostly in Colombia but has carried out extortion , kidnappings and other activities in Venezuela , Panama and Ecuador , analysts said . The guerrilla group is known to pull off audacious operations , sometimes dressed as police , soldiers or other government officials . On April 11 , 2002 , a 20-member commando group dressed in police and military uniforms faked a bomb alert at the parliament building in Cali , Colombia 's third-largest city . They tricked 12 congressmen into getting on a bus by telling them the military provided it for their safety . They then drove off , taking the congressmen into captivity . Eleven of those congressmen died in June 2007 during a shootout between military and the FARC . The sole surviving congressman , who was released in February , said the FARC shot the hostages when the soldiers approached .
Plot was against Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos , president says . Ten guerrillas planned to kill Santos ' family , President Alvaro Uribe says . Score: 6