The Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) will no longer be classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the U.S. Department of State said in a press release Tuesday.
Following a Peace Accord with the Colombian government in 2016, FARC has formally dissolved and disarmed, no longer existing as a unified organization with the ability to actively engage in terrorism or terrorist activity, the release said.
"We are also announcing the designation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP) and Segunda Marquetalia, as FTOs pursuant to Section 2019 of the INA and as SDGTs under E.O. 13224, as amended," state officials said in the press release.
The amendment is targeted at former members of FARC who refused to disarm and continue to engage in terrorist activity. The leaders of those organizations: Luciano Marin Arango, Hernan Dario Velasquez Saldarriaga, Henry Castellanos Garzon, Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernandez, Miguel Santanilla Botache and Euclides Espana Caicedo, will still be designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, according to the press release.
In addition to drug trafficking and terrorism, FARC-EP has also been responsible for the killing of political candidates and former FARC members, kidnapping of a political operative, mass destruction, assassination, and the kidnapping and holding of government employees for ransom, according to the press release.
Although the Department of State has committed to the decision to revoke the designation, the department has not changed its stance regarding current or future charges in the United States against former leaders of the FARC, the release said. Potential charges would include narcotrafficking, as well as permanent damage from the decision by Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction of Peace, which found their actions to be crimes against humanity.
The State Department believes this step will help in implementing the 2016 accord and allow for working with former combatants, the release said.
