Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has said that the country is in the final phase of the struggle to achieve peace in the country and has urged the armed forces to redouble their efforts to complete their goals, El Espectador reported Monday.
“In a war the last phase is difficult, we have seen how the enemies are responding with terrorism. We are not going to leave, but we must not forget that we have not won, we have to multiply our actions,” said the president following a meeting in which he assessed the Defense Ministry and armed forces in terms of homeland security and combating narco-trafficking.
The head of state was full of praise and reaffirmed his confidence in Colombia’s armed forces, inviting its members to move forward because “the challenge is great.”
“I know the armed forces well and if we aim high we will fulfill those aims. At this point, if we coordinate ourselves, we are going to achieve a final blow [to the illegal forces]. We will be able to give our children a country at peace,” he stated.
Santos continued that “I never get tired of repeating how the members of our armed forces should feel proud…with the results of poll on poll in which [people] are asked which institution is most appreciated, most respected, the dearest to Colombians, our armed forces always appear first.”
During the meeting Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera presented to the Colombian leader a report on the fight against the FARC, the ELN and the BACRIM [the government’s acronym for neo-paramilitary criminal organizations], especially about the progress of Operation “Troya.”