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The U.S. made official on Tuesday the removal of the Colombian criminal group FARC from its list of terrorist organizations, as confirmed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement.
At the same time, according to the statement, the United States designates FARC dissidents and the Second Marquetalia (both active armed branches of the criminal group) as terrorist organizations.
Blinken said in a tweet Tuesday morning that the decision seeks to recognize the peace agreement signed by former President Juan Manuel Santos with FARC guerrillas in 2016.
“Today’s revocation of FARC’s terrorist designations is a credit to the 2016 Peace Accord with the Colombian government. Our new designations of two new terrorist groups will continue to isolate those who engage in terrorism at the expense of the Colombian people,” read Blinken’s tweet.
The decision, which had been reported last week by the Wall Street Journal, will not pardon the human rights and drug trafficking crimes perpetrated by the organization’s leaders and members.
