Government of Colombia and FARC review implementation of peace agreement

Meeting, which counts on the participation of President Juan Manuel Santos and the maximum leader of the Farc, Rodrigo Londoño, is held in Cartagena

Representatives of the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) began Saturday a two-day meeting to accelerate the implementation of the peace agreement they signed to end the violent armed conflict of more than half a century.

The meeting, which counts with the participation of President Juan Manuel Santos and the maximum leader of the Farc, Rodrigo Londoño, known as “Timochenko”, is being held in the city of Cartagena, main tourist resort of the South American country.

“At the meeting, an assessment of progress will be made to make the necessary decisions to accelerate the implementation of the agreements,” a joint statement from both parties said.

The Colombian government and the FARC signed a peace agreement in November after four years of talks in Cuba to put an end to the armed conflict that left 220,000 dead, millions homeless, and slowed growth in Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.

The agreement was heavily criticized by the political opposition led by former President Álvaro Uribe, who has raised the need for change to demand that guerrilla leaders be arrested for their crimes and not be elected.

“We will not renegotiate or open the door to renegotiate the agreements, but of course we can make improvements in the agreements … but it has to be in common agreement between the parties,” Santos said on Friday, dismissing the possibility of reopening the agreement. negotiation.

The nearly 7,000 members of the rebel group currently remain in 26 sites located in mountainous and jungle regions, under the supervision of the United Nations, to which they are expected to hand over weapons based on what was established in the agreement.

The disarmament process is expected to be completed by early June and members of the rebel group will form a political party.