Colombia Legal Changes Jeopardize Future of FARC Agreement by Ángela Olaya and Parker Asmann - InSight Crime
Controversy surrounding the extension and modifications of a crucial law in Colombia shows the continued risks facing the successful implementation of the government’s peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas. This could also jeopardize the already uncertain future of peace talks with the ELN, which is ramping up its criminal activities and forging alliances with dissident FARC members.
Lawmakers in Colombia on December 12 approved the extension and some modifications to the country’s Public Order Law that established Strategic Zones of Comprehensive Intervention (Zonas Estratégicas de Intervención Integral — ZEII) in areas affected by violence, a Peace Cabinet that will coordinate the security strategies used in these regions, as well as a coordination center that will “pursue and dismantle” illicit goods and activities, among other things, according to an Interior Ministry press release.
However, officials voted down a controversial article that would have allowed the administration of President Iván Duque to reactivate arrest warrants against former fighters from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) who demobilized and are complying with the historic 2016 peace agreement…