BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- A leftist rebel faction planned to assassinate President Ernesto Samper earlier this year to refute claims that the group was on the decline, the guerrillas have revealed.

Samper was to be attacked while visiting the war-torn Segovia region along with Defense Minister Gilberto Echeverri Mejia, according to statements by a field commander from the National Liberation Army, Colombia's second largest guerrilla group.

The rebel, who goes by the name Commander Julian, disclosed the plot to reporters Friday afternoon during the rebel release of 15 young women held hostage for three weeks under suspicion of being army spies. The statements were reported Saturday in local newspapers.

The rebels interpreted Samper's visit as an attempt "to humiliate the guerrillas with the argument that this was a peaceful region and that the rebels had been expelled from the zone," the rebel commander said.

The attack was aborted, he said, because Samper was surrounded by crowds during the visit, the exact date of which could not be determined.

There was no official reaction to the rebel revelation, which comes amid heightened peace expectations since presidential elections June 21.

Both the 5,000-member National Liberation Army and the 15,000-member Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have said they'll talk peace with president-elect Andres Pastrana, who replaces Samper in August