Republican pundits ignore the facts so they can politicize U.S. policy on Colombia’s FARC | Opinion

The State Deparment’s decision to remove the FARC from its list of foreign terrorist organizations is the right one, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to politicians and pundits in Miami.

In recent weeks, South Florida’s Latino residents have been bombarded with posturing from those seeking cheap political wins among exiles and their families. This tactic is not only dishonest — it’s dangerous.

Colombians like myself have long come to this country in search of better opportunities, but far too many of us ended up here fleeing the violence of a six-decade armed conflict. Chief among Colombia’s antagonists was the former Marxist-Leninist insurgent group, the FARC.

The FARC inflicted immeasurable damage on Colombia, but in 2016, the guerrilla group laid down its arms after five years of painstaking negotiations. Former FARC members put their faith in a government they had spent more than 50 years fighting, and over the past five years, some 90 percent of the organization’s rank and file have fully complied with the terms of the peace accord.

The decision announced by the State Department on Dec. 1 consists of two key components.

The first brings the U.S. government’s policies in line with those of the European Union and Colombia, Washington’s top strategic partner in Latin America.

The second adds to the list of terrorist organizations the two main dissident groups that defected from the peace process, Segunda Marquetalia & FARC-EP.

The decision makes sense. For those that have complied with the agreement as negotiated between the guerrilla group and the Colombian state, they will continue to face justice for past crimes committed while seeking broader societal inclusion through peaceful politics and economic opportunity. For those outside of this process, the full force of the Colombian and U.S. militaries, intelligence agencies and judicial authorities will be upon them.

What are the advantages of this change? It’s important that this reconfiguration of policy allows the U.S. government to leverage all its resources to facilitate its assistance in ending the armed conflict in Colombia. The law does not allow U.S. agencies to work on projects, much less interact with groups on the terrorist organization list.

In addition, the delisting helps ensure that U.S. policy reflects the reality that Colombia is in a different place than it was in 1964, 2001 — or even 2015. To this end, U.S. authorities can now focus resources on those criminals and terrorists that are still wreaking havoc in Colombia.

Furthermore, this designation does not affect any charges or potential charges in the United States brought against former FARC leaders, such as drug trafficking. This also does not affect the functioning of the Special Jurisdiction of Peace (JEP) and its ongoing investigations into crimes against humanity during the conflict, such as the recent indictment of FARC leadership for kidnapping. This will not erase the stain that hangs over the FARC for all the atrocities it has committed against the Colombian people.

We also have to address local leaders’ disinformation. Republicans from South Florida have not hesitated to use this decision to associate President Biden and the Democrats with the “far-left,” framing this as helping the FARC. It’s a continuation of their baseless claims of Democrats’ “socialism.” We do not expect any better from them of their understanding of the issue.

However, we have come to expect more from Democratic elected officials in Florida, who were quick to criticize the administration and State Department. Their reaction was in line with those of Republicans, implying that Washington was assisting communists and terrorist groups in Latin America. They should clarify or retract such comments. They are of no help in an already convoluted political environment.

We must put the facts before politics, and not play with the emotions of the Colombian community.

Marco A. Frieri is a Democratic political analyst and a member of Colombianos Con Biden.