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.
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.
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.
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.
United Nations
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.