The U.S. government has called on the international community to unite in supporting the Colombian government’s fight against the FARC, reported European news agency.
Speaking in Bogota at the end of a two-day visit, Maria Otero, the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights said the FARC was “a terrorist entity.”
“All countries in the region should support the effort to get rid of these entities which create violence and abuse,” she declared.
While Otero called for an end to violence in Colombia, no mention was made of paramilitary groups and their heirs, which are known to still operate.
It has been estimated that prior to their official demobilization in 2008, paramilitaries were responsible for 80% of human rights abuses in Colombia.
Otero went on in her speech to say. “We [the U.S. ] have always aimed to ensure that no country supported the FARC.”
Controversy was recently been sparked by the appointment of Venezuelan Defence Minister Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, who the US have linked to the FARC since 2008.
But Otero went on to praise Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos‘ efforts to forge closer links with neighbours Ecuador and Venezuela, after a major cooling of relations during the 2002-2010 presidency of Alvaro Uribe.
Otero’s speech came at the end of a two-day visit to Colombia in which she visited southern regions beset by drug trafficking and projects in receipt of U.S. aid.
She was due to close the visit by meeting Colombian Vice President Angelino Garzon and Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin.