Striving for Peace in Colombia

June 20th marks the final deadline for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to hand over its weapons to the United Nations Mission in Colombia. This is an extension from the original May 30th  deadline. The cutoff date is part of the peace accord signed between FARC and Colombian leaders that puts an end to over fifty years of violent conflict.

Since the conflict began in 1964, over 220,000 have been killed and more than 6 million displaced.

According to the agreement, FARC members are required to surrender all weapons and live in disarmament camps for a transition period between FARC and civilian life. In exchange, FARC members will be able to form a political party and most will be granted amnesty from prosecution.

The group has a total of 7,000 weapons which are registered with the UN as part of the disarmament agreement. FARC Members have turned in an estimated 40% of these weapons to the UN, falling short of the 60% expected by this time. That it seems reasonable to believe that the 7,000 declared weapons represents only a portion of FARC’s armory, given its more than 900 weapon caches nationwide.

The peace agreement was originally signed by Colombian officials and FARC in June of 2016 after four years of negotiations and peace talks. This past October, the deal was initially rejected by a narrow margin in a referendum. According to BBC, 50.2% of the almost 13 million Colombians who voted opposed the agreement many feeling that the FARC rebels were being let off too easy.

Many of the pro-agreement voters live in outskirt provinces which were most negatively impacted by FARC activity. For instance, 96% of residents in Bojaya, a town FARC attacked, voted “yes” on the deal.

The Colombian Congress proceeded to pass the accord in November.

Following Colombia’s decade long civil war known as La Violencia, FARC was founded in 1964 by Pedro Antonio Marin – alias Manuel Marulanda – a member of the Colombian Communist Party (PCC) and united peasants in rural communities against the government.

The group’s involvement in drug trafficking began in the late 1970s and helped it gain a lot of ground in Colombia. In addition to the drug market, FARC is known for its kidnappings and other forms of extortion to finance its political and military purposes.

At its peak in the late 1990s, FARC had an estimated 20,000 active fighters and was considered to be the largest guerilla group in Latin America. It was labeled as a terrorist organization by the United States in 1997. The group has a current estimate of 6,000-7,000 fighters remaining. Most of these fighters are believed to come from rural, underprivileged areas.

After past Colombian leaders’ attempts at resolution, peace is finally underway. In September the U.S. said it will consider the removal of FARC from its terrorist list. However, there are still a few potential problems that remain.

One of the most concerning complications is the Colombian government and UN’s successful retrieval of all FARC weapons. Having to go to and disarm 900 weapon caches located deep within the jungle is a difficult task and may result in an arms race with paramilitary groups, dissident FARC guerrillas, and drug traffickers, seeking to take over FARC arms.

While Colombia’s peace deal has made substantial progress in ending the half-century long conflict, it has not solved all of the issues. The departure of FARC leaves behind a terrorist and drug cartel vacuum in Colombia and it is likely that other terrorist and drug trafficking groups will rise and try take the place of FARC.

There is the additional threat of the estimated 300 rogue FARC rebels who refuse the terms to the peace agreement. They continue to fight and recently kidnapped a UN anti-drug official. Violence also prevails as demonstrated by the June 17th bombing in Bogotá.

But despite the difficulties, President Santos remains optimistic: “Peace will be built little by little, like a cathedral, which you build brick by brick.”