The United States no longer considers Colombian FARC as a terrorist organization

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on November 30 that the guerrilla group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is no longer designated as a terrorist organization.

This decision will be made five years after the peace agreement was reached between the Group and the Government of Colombia in 2016.

Blinken said the designation of two new terrorist groups called Segunda Marchetaria and FARC-EP, or the “People’s Army,” would continue. They have evolved as a FARC fragment faction.

“The decision to revoke the designation does not change the attitude of any US accusations or potential accusations against former FARC leaders, including drug trafficking,” Blinken said in a statement.

The conflict with FARC killed 262,197 people. According to Colombian government records, only 46,813 of these are listed as combatants.

Founded in 1964 as a radical branch of the Communist Party of Colombia, FARC is the largest rebel in Colombia and is considered the oldest active terrorist organization in the world.

Responsible for bombing, kidnapping and murder, terrorist activity spread to Venezuela and Ecuador, urging military strengthening of the Colombian border for many years.

At peak times, FARC is estimated to have more than 10,000 dedicated soldiers and thousands of assistive supporters, most of them from rural Colombia.

Following the usual pattern of communist groups, FARC evolved from the demand for redistribution of land and wealth. This concept first attracted attention in South America in the 1950s.

On November 23, the Biden administration announced that it was considering removing FARC from the list of approved terrorist groups designated by the US government since 1997.

This banned FARC members from entering the United States and restricted access to the dollar-based international financial system.

Despite that limitation, FARC has earned hundreds of millions of dollars over the years from taxes levied on the Colombian drug industry.

Four years of discussions and negotiations took place in Havana, Cuba, before FARC reached an agreement with the Colombian government on the ceasefire that took place on August 24, 2016.

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