Colombia’s Peace Plan

In Colombia, only the old can remember the country when it was last at peace. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, began fighting for a Marxist revolution in 1964, leading wealthy Colombians to form vigilante groups that outdid the rebels in their savagery. Fueled by cocaine money, both sides helped make the Andean nation one of the most violent countries in the world. Following four years of negotiations, the government and the FARC reached a peace deal last August. After voters rejected it in a plebiscite, the government instead turned to Congress for approval of a revised version. There, it was ratified in November, and the guerrillas have moved into United Nations-monitored camps and begun to disarm. Yet the spread of other illegal armed groups into former FARC zones and a surge in political assassinations could still undermine the hard-fought agreement.

The modified accord, which passed Congress with opposition lawmakers abstaining from or boycotting the vote, calls for the 6,000 or so guerrillas to disarm in exchange for seats in Congress, reduced punishment for crimes and a program to redistribute land to small farmers who were forced to flee the tumult. It also requires the FARC to compensate victims of the conflict using its own assets and clarifies that FARC leaders who confess to serious crimes will be confined to areas no bigger than a hamlet. The deal was championed by President Juan Manuel Santos, who won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Former President Alvaro Uribe, who led the opposition to the accord, has continued to argue that the terms should be tougher for a group that kidnapped and murdered Colombians. He says FARC leaders guilty of major crimes should face harsher penalties and restrictions on taking seats in Congress.