A year after Colombia’s FARC rebels laid down their weapons, the United States said their newly formed political party will continue to be considered a terrorist group.
The shock message was delivered by ambassador Kevin Whitaker, who in an interview with newspaper El Tiempo surprisingly claimed the FARC has not ended its drug trafficking activities as agreed in a peace deal closed in December last year.
The FARC formally renounced drug trafficking and other criminal activity exactly a year ago. Following the group’s demobilization and disarmament, the rebels were allowed to form a political party that will take part in elections this upcoming year.
Nevertheless, the US ambassador said the FARC will continue to be considered a terrorist organization, claiming the former guerrillas continue to be active in the cultivation of coca, the base ingredient of cocaine.
Are the FARC not planting or encouraging the planting of coca? I believe they are.
US ambassador Kevin Whitaker
The ambassador’s claim is not supported by the United Nations, which has observed the peace process and has supported counter-narcotics efforts since September last year when the FARC and government agreed to a bilateral ceasefire.
Whitaker also said the FARC has failed to cooperate with Colombian authorities to dismantle criminal networks.
The FARC in the agreement has vowed to cooperate with the Colombian government, which is not happening.
US ambassador Kevin Whitaker
Because the FARC continues to be considered a terrorist organization, Whitaker said his government cannot get involved in the UN-supported crop substitution program that is part of the peace process.
According to the US ambassador, this key element of Colombia’s new counter-narcotics strategy would benefit the demobilized guerrillas.
It is a system that also directly involves the FARC and there we have observations. Neither I nor the embassy of the United States can get involved with the FARC, because they are an international terrorist organization, as determined by my government. One of the largest organizations in the world of drug trafficking, also reviewed by my government. Doing something that benefits FARC to us Americans is a violation of US federal law and we will not do that.
US ambassador Kevin Whitaker
The UN and international NGOs have opposed the repressive methods promoted by the US and have stressed the importance of crop substitution to effectively reduce coca cultivation.
International evidence shows that alternative development, combined with integrated rural development and security conditions effectively granted by the State, are the most sustainable solutions to the problem of illicit drugs.
United Nations
We are deeply troubled by the reports of forced eradication and violent confrontations between eradicators and the local population, especially in areas where communities have already signed crop substitution agreements. These actions not only perpetuate violence and generate new conflicts, but also undermine the very spirit of the voluntary crop substitution agreements and confidence-building efforts with local communities that have long been neglected – potentially threatening the effective implementation of the Peace Accord.
International Drug Policy Consortium
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has been calling on the US to revise its counter-narcotics strategy since before peace talks with the FARC, claiming the US-led “War on Drugs” is possibly “more harmful than all other wars in the world, combined.”
The country’s authorities teamed up with the UN to implement the new strategy, which seeks to reduce coca cultivation through development in the impoverished countryside and the voluntary substitution of illicit crops.
The administration of President Donald Trump, however, has been pushing the forced eradication of coca, a strategy that has caused violent, at times deadly clashes between security forces and farmers throughout Colombia.
Forced coca eradication causing violent clashes throughout Colombia
Last month, Trump threatened to decertify Colombia as a country that cooperates with US efforts to curb drug trafficking.
The US government has been under pressure to curb a major public health crisis spurred by excessive use of drugs, particularly prescribed opioids.
While Colombia has urged the US government to address drug consumption, the US government has increasingly been pressuring Colombian authorities to curb cocaine production through eradicating coca by force.
This has caused a conflict with a government strategy supported by the United Nations to allow farmers to voluntarily substitute coca for legal crops while the government invests in rural infrastructure.
