Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos confirmed Tuesday that he is ready to open the door for a political solution to peace.
During an official visit to the United Kingdom, Santos told an audience in London, “I have the key to peace in my pocket, but I think that ultimately it must be a political solution.”
Colombia’s president reiterated his much-stated belief that he will first need a “clear indication” from guerrilla groups such as the FARC that they are willing to pursue peace through dialogue and negotiation, rather than terrorist actions.
“I do not believe the words of the FARC and I say this due to past experiences that we have had. Every time that the FARC talk about negotiation they have used the process to instigate and continue terrorist acts,” said Santos.
Santos highlighted recent successes, making reference to the recent killing of supreme FARC leader “Alfonso Cano” and the September 2010 killing of prominent FARC leader “Mono Jojoy”. He said, “To give them an example, in a year two FARC leaders have been neutralized, ‘Mono Jojoy’ and ‘Alfonso Cano,’ the number one and number two.”