FARC leader Seuxis Hernandez, more widely known as Jesus Santrich, at a press conference at the FARC party headquarters in Bogota, Colombia, May 30, 2019 (AP photo by Fernando Vergara).
Why Colombia’s Dissident FARC Rebels Are Taking Up Arms Again
The announcement that a group of senior commanders from the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, are taking up arms again is a heavy blow to Colombia’s already fragile peace process. The declaration, made in a video posted on Aug. 29, represents the most significant break to date with the 2016 peace accord that was supposed to end the longest-running conflict in Latin America.
In the video posted on social media, the FARC’s former second-in-command, Luciano Marin—better known by his nom de guerre, Ivan Marquez—declared a “new chapter” in the Marxist guerrillas’ armed struggle. One of the key architects of the peace agreement, Marquez, wearing olive military garb and toting a rifle, accused the Colombian government of “betrayal.” ...