102-609: Patrick Mac Manus (1944 - 12 August 2011 ) was an Irish-Danish political activist. Mac Manus immigrated to Denmark in 1966 and remained there the rest of his life. His activism included supporting the FARC rebels in the Colombian civil war ; campaigning against the Turkish Occupation of Cyprus , and supporting the recognition of the Armenian and Greek genocides , he supported the creation of
204-742: A Master of Public Administration in 1981. He returned to Colombia to become Deputy Director of his family owned newspaper El Tiempo . Santos has been a member of the Washington-based think tank the Inter-American Dialogue since 1990, and he previously served as co-chair of the Board of Directors. He was president of the Freedom of Expression Commission for the Inter American Press Association. A Fulbright visiting fellow at
306-423: A "more or less systematic manner" by numerous Colombian military personnel and found the number of trials for those implicated to be lacking, but stated that he had found no evidence of the executions being an official government policy and acknowledged a decrease in the number of reported cases. In March 2010, Santos publicly stated these executions had stopped since October 2008 and that this had been confirmed by
408-536: A 42,000 km (16,200 sq mi) safe haven meant to serve as a confidence building measure, centred on the San Vicente del Caguán settlement. After a series of high-profile guerrilla actions, including the hijacking of an aircraft, the attack on several small towns and cities, the arrest of the Irish Colombia Three (see below) and the alleged training of FARC-EP militants in bomb making by them, and
510-676: A Kurdish state in the Kurdish conflict in Turkey , and called for the cessation of The Troubles , against neoliberalism and also against the authoritarian governments of the Arab States . Mac Manus was a member of the Communist Party (Denmark) . In the 2004, Mac Manus became a leading member of Foreningen Oprør [ da ] ("Rebellion"), a pro-Communist organisation. In August 2005, due to his activity on behalf of Foreningen Oprør, Mac Manus
612-519: A constitutional reform to be able to run for a second term. In 2006, after Uribe's re-election, when the Party of the U won a majority of seats in the two chambers of Congress , Santos was appointed as Minister of National Defence , and continued defending the security policies of President Uribe, taking a strong and forceful stance against FARC and the other guerrilla groups operating in Colombia. His time at
714-576: A cornerstone of Santos' presidency. Former President Uribe has criticised Santos for seeking peace "at any costs" in contrast to his predecessor's rejection of talks. In October 2012, Santos received the Shalom Prize "for his commitment to seeking peace in his country and worldwide." Upon accepting the award from the Latin American chapter of the World Jewish Congress, Santos stated that "Both
816-641: A demilitarized zone and peace talks with the FARC guerrilla group. Juan Manuel Santos has been named as one of Time magazine 's 100 most influential people. Universidade NOVA de Lisboa is granting the Honoris Causa Doctorate title to Juan Manuel Santos. Santos also founded the Social Party of National Unity (Party of the U) to support the presidency of Álvaro Uribe . He was named Minister of Defence on 19 July 2006. During his tenure as Defence Minister,
918-742: A former police inspector, said he had seen Mr McCauley with FARC-EP members in 1998. Without his testimony, legal sources said the chances of convicting the three men were reduced. They were eventually found guilty of travelling on false passports in June 2004 but were acquitted of training FARC-EP members. That decision was reversed after an appeal by the Attorney General of Colombia and they were sentenced to 17-year terms. However, they vanished in December 2004 while on bail and returned to Ireland. Tánaiste Mary Harney said no deal had been done with Sinn Féin or
1020-579: A government agency, has estimated that between 1981 and 2012 paramilitary groups have caused 38.4% of the civilian deaths, while the Guerillas are responsible for 16.8%, the Colombian Security Forces for 10.1%, and other non-identified armed groups for 27.7%. The National Centre for Historical Memory has also concluded that of the 27,023 kidnappings carried out between 1970 and 2010, the Guerillas were responsible for 90.6% of them. The strength of
1122-493: A joint news conference at the White House, where Trump praised Colombia's efforts to end a 52-year civil war that left more than 220,000 dead as a "great thing to watch." Around that time, it was reported that Trump had an "unusual meeting with former presidents Alvaro Uribe and Andres Pastrana " at his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago , lending weight to suspicion that Santos's political enemies were enlisting Trump's support against
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#17329084790561224-511: A longstanding connection between the IRA and FARC–EP, mentioned at least 15 IRA members who had been travelling in and out of Colombia since 1998, and estimated that the IRA had received at least $ 2 million in drug proceeds for training FARC-EP members. The IRA/FARC-EP connection was first made public on 11 August 2001, following the arrest in Bogotá of two IRA explosives and urban warfare experts and of
1326-689: A representative of Sinn Féin who was known to be stationed in Cuba . Jim Monaghan, Martin McCauley and Niall Connolly (known as the Colombia Three ), were arrested in Colombia in August 2001 and were accused of teaching bomb-making methods to FARC–EP. On 15 February 2002, the Colombia Three were charged with training FARC-EP members in bomb-making in Colombia. The Colombian authorities had received satellite footage of
1428-521: A school for U'Wa children, and were fighting against encroachment of U'Wa territory by multinational oil corporations. The killings were questioned by many and condemned by many others, and led the United States to increase pressure on the Pastrana administration to crack down on FARC guerrillas. With the hope of negotiating a peace settlement, on 7 November 1998, President Andrés Pastrana granted FARC-EP
1530-498: A secret supplement to his report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Yarborough encouraged the creation and deployment of a US-backed force to commit " paramilitary , sabotage and/or terrorist activities against known communist proponents". The new counter-insurgency policy was instituted as Plan Lazo in 1962 and called for both military operations and civic action programs in violent areas. Following Yarborough's recommendations,
1632-474: A well established and influential family since the mid-20th century; his great-great-grandaunt was María Antonia Santos Plata , a martyr of the Independence of Colombia, and his great-granduncle was Eduardo Santos Montejo , President of Colombia between 1938 and 1942, who acquired the national newspaper El Tiempo . From there, his family has been connected to the newspaper and influenced the political life of
1734-594: A year earlier, when the two men were leading a march for peace from Medellín to Caicedo in Antioquia. On 13 July 2004, the office of the United Nations ' High Commissioner for Human Rights publicly condemned the group, given evidence that FARC-EP violated article 17 of the additional Protocol II of the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law, as a result of the 10 July massacre of seven peasants and
1836-551: Is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize . An economist by training and a journalist by trade, Santos is a member of the wealthy and influential Santos family, who from 1913 to 2007 were the majority shareholders of El Tiempo , Colombia's newspaper of record. In 1991, Santos was appointed by President César Gaviria Trujillo as Colombia's first Minister of Foreign Trade . In 2000, he
1938-476: Is much to be done". On 24 February, Santos announced that the running mate for his 2014 reelection campaign would be is Germán Vargas Lleras , a veteran politician from one of Colombia's most powerful political dynasties, and his former Minister of Housing, City and Territory . The decision to replace Vice President Garzón as his running mate was an expected one, as Garzón had already announced his desire to retire from politics. On 15 May, Santos obtained 25.69% of
2040-441: Is the usage of glyphosate to eradicate coca crops, which Colombia had halted in favor of other methods due to health concerns. Colombia defended its anti-narcotics efforts after the threat of Trump to decertify the country as a partner in counter-narcotics efforts. For more than 30 years Colombia has demonstrated its commitment – paying a very high cost in human lives – with overcoming the drug problem. This commitment stems from
2142-485: The latifundio type of industrial farm (more than 50 hectares) occupied more than 77 per cent of arable land in the country. The AED policy increased the concentration of land ownership among cattle ranchers and urban industrialists, whose businesses expanded their profits as a result of reductions in the cost of labor wages after the influx of thousands of displaced peasants into the cities. During this period, most rural workers lacked basic medical care and malnutrition
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#17329084790562244-728: The 'false positives' scandal was uncovered, referring to revelations concerning extrajudicial executions carried out by members of the military in order to artificially increase the number of guerrillas killed by the Army and claim rewards from the government. On 4 November 2008, Santos admitted that the military had carried out extrajudicial executions and he pledged to resolve the issue. Twenty-seven military officers, including three generals and eleven colonels, were sacked after an internal army investigation concluded that they were responsible for administrative failures and irregularities in reporting enemy casualties and operational results. The Commander of
2346-533: The 2014 Colombian presidential election against Uribe's protégé Óscar Iván Zuluaga . On 7 October 2016, Santos was announced as recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts negotiating a peace treaty with the FARC-guerrilla in the country, despite his defeat in the referendum held over the deal, where the "No" campaign led by Uribe's Democratic Center won narrowly. The Colombian government and
2448-537: The Colombian National Army , General Mario Montoya , resigned. By May 2009, 67 soldiers had been found guilty and over 400 were arrested pending trial. There are different estimates for the number of civilians who may have been killed in this manner. As of May 2009, prosecutors were investigating more than 900 cases involving over 1,500 victims and 1,177 members of the Colombian security forces. According to
2550-586: The Coordinación Colombia-Europa-Estados Unidos NGO coalition and the Fundación para la Educación y el Desarrollo , an estimated 3,756 extrajudicial executions occurred between 1994 and 2009, of which 3,084 cases would have taken place after 2002. Families of the victims and non-governmental organisations have held the Uribe administration and Santos, as Defence Minister, responsible for
2652-566: The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1981, and a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1988, Santos also holds an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. He was Minister of Foreign Trade of Colombia during the administration of President César Gaviria Trujillo from 1991 to 1994 and also the Presidential Designate of Colombia from 1993 to 1994, Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia during
2754-556: The Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board and the government on neutral territory in Caracas , Venezuela and Tlaxcala , Mexico. However, the war did not stop, and armed attacks by both sides continued. The negotiation process was broken off in 1993 after no agreement was reached. The Coordinating Board disappeared not long after that time, and guerrilla groups continued their activities independently. Before
2856-478: The United Nations . One month later, FARC announced its reformation as a legal political party , in accordance with the terms of the peace deal. However, about 2,000 to 2,500 FARC dissidents still take on FARC's original doctrine and continue with drug trafficking, though far smaller than the group at its peak. A small faction of FARC leaders announced a return to armed activity on 29 August 2019, stating that
2958-585: The barrios discussing social problems, building support for the UP, and determining the sociopolitical stance of the urban peasantry. The UP performed better in elections than any other leftist party in Colombia's history. In 1986, UP candidates won 350 local council seats, 23 deputy positions in departmental assemblies, 9 seats in the House, and 6 seats in the Senate. The 1986 presidential candidate, Jaime Pardo Leal , won 4.6% of
3060-664: The nationalization of foreign businesses, Colombian banks, and transportation, and greater public access to mass media . While many members of the UP were involved with the FARC–EP, the large majority of them were not and came from a wide variety of backgrounds such as labor unions and socialist parties such as the PCC. In the cities, the FARC–EP began integrating itself with the UP and forming Juntas Patrióticas (or "solidarity cells") – small groups of people associated with labor unions, student activist groups, and peasant leagues, who traveled into
3162-477: The "coca boom" allowed them to expand into an irregular army, which would then stage large-scale attacks on Colombian troops. They also began sending fighters to Vietnam and the Soviet Union for advanced military training. They also planned to move closer to middle-sized cities, as opposed to only remote rural areas, and closer to areas rich in natural resources, in order to create a strong economic infrastructure. It
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3264-417: The 2000 film Proof of Life starring Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe . Over this period in Colombia, the cultivation of different drugs expanded and there were widespread coca farmers' marches. These marches brought to a halt several major arteries in southern Colombia. Government officials said that FARC-EP had forced the protesters to participate. According to social anthropologist María Clemencia Ramírez,
3366-535: The 787 party delegates, and receiving the party's nomination on 28 January 2014. Santos and his allies also lobbied for the support of other political parties, receiving the nomination from the Liberal and Radical Change parties, forming the National Unity Coalition. On 12 March Santos officially launched his re-election campaign for the 2014 presidential election under the slogan: "We have done much, there
3468-788: The Admiral Padilla Naval Cadet School in Cartagena , graduating from it in 1969, and continuing in the Navy until 1971, finishing with the rank of naval cadet NA-42z 139. After leaving the Navy, Santos moved to the United States where he attended the University of Kansas . A member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, he graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor in Economics and Business Administration. On 31 October 2017, Santos received an honorary doctorate of human letters from KU. After graduating from
3570-627: The CINEP, one of Colombia's foremost human rights defence institutions. Semana , a well-respected weekly magazine, reported that a few days later the CINEP responded to Santos's declarations by issuing a press release which stated that, while the number of reported cases had been significantly reduced after the Defence Ministry's measures were announced, the period between November 2008 and December 2009 still saw 7 such executions and 2 arbitrary detentions. Juan Manuel Santos announced his resignation from
3672-701: The Colombian government continued its negotiations with the FARC–EP and other armed groups, some of which were successful. Some of the groups which demobilized at this time include the EPL , the ERP , the Quintín Lame Armed Movement, and the M-19 . On 10 August 1990, senior leader Jacobo Arenas, an ideological leader and founder of FARC–EP, died of a heart attack at the Casa Verde compound in Colombia's eastern mountains. Towards
3774-492: The Colombian government did not respect peace agreements, a position Colombian officials disagreed with. The Colombian government responded with preemptive strikes, killing FARC members planning to lead rearmament activities. In October of 2023, the Colombian government engaged in peace talks with the FARC splinter group and agreed to a ceasefire. In January, both sides agreed to extend the ceasefire to June 2024. As of February 2024,
3876-492: The Colombian government effected a policy of Accelerated Economic Development (AED), the agribusiness plan of Lauchlin Currie , a Canadian-born U.S. economist who owned ranching land in Colombia. The plan promoted industrial farming that would produce great yields of agricultural and animal products for worldwide exportation, while the Colombian government would provide subsidies to large-scale private farms. The AED policy came at
3978-514: The Colombian government had engaged in exploratory talks with FARC in order to seek an end to the conflict. He also said that he would learn from the mistakes of previous leaders, who failed to secure a lasting ceasefire with FARC, though the military would still continue operations throughout Colombia while talks continued. According to an unnamed Colombian intelligence source, Santos offered FARC assurances that no one would be extradited to stand trial in another country. The move has been viewed as
4080-511: The Colombian military recruited civilians into "civil defense" groups which worked alongside the military in its counter-insurgency campaign, as well as in civilian intelligence networks to gather information on guerrilla activity. Doug Stokes argues that it was not until the early part of the 1980s that the Colombian government attempted to move away from the counterinsurgency strategy represented by Plan Lazo and Yarborough's 1962 recommendations. The Colombian government began attacking many of
4182-514: The Conservative and Green parties. On 15 June, Santos won 50.95% of the popular vote in the second round of the election. President Santos addressed supporters and volunteers gathered at the campaign's headquarters in the Claustro de La Enseñanza after his reelection and said: "This is the end of 50 years of conflict in this country, and it is the beginning of a new Colombia". Santos's victory, which
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4284-469: The Defence Ministry on 18 May 2009. Santos said that his resignation did not necessarily imply tossing his hat into the 2010 presidential race and that his participation in the electoral race depended on whether Uribe would pursue a third term, which he was willing to support. His resignation took effect on 23 May 2009. When the Constitutional Court ruled out the possibility of Uribe's participation in
4386-449: The FARC between August 2002 and their collective demobilization in 2017, despite potentially severe punishment, including execution, for attempted desertion in the FARC. FARC made 239 attacks on the energy infrastructure; however, they showed signs of fatigue. By 2014, the FARC were not seeking to engage in outright combat with the army, instead concentrating on small-scale ambushes against isolated army units. Meanwhile, from 2008 to 2017,
4488-484: The FARC opted to attack police patrols with home-made mortars, sniper rifles, and explosives, as they were not considered strong enough to engage police units directly. This followed the trend of the 1990s during the strengthening of Colombian government forces . In June 2016, the FARC signed a ceasefire accord with the President of Colombia , Juan Manuel Santos in Havana . This accord was seen as an historic step to ending
4590-462: The FARC signed a revised peace deal on 24 November and sent it to Congress for ratification instead of conducting a second referendum. Both houses of Congress ratified the revised peace accord on 29–30 November 2016, marking an end to the conflict. The treaty brought deep divisions and polarization in the country, which questions its legitimacy. Santos has been named as one of Time ' s 100 most influential people. Santos left office with one of
4692-476: The FARC–EP forces was high; in 2007, the FARC said they were an armed force of 18,000 men and women; in 2010, the Colombian military calculated that FARC forces consisted of about 13,800 members, 50 percent of whom were armed guerrilla combatants; and in 2011 the president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos , said that FARC–EP forces comprised fewer than 10,000 members. The Colombian Ministry of Defense reported 19,504 deserters , or individually demobilized members, from
4794-444: The FARC–EP were funded by kidnap and ransom , illegal mining , extortion , and taxation of various forms of economic activity, and the production and distribution of illegal drugs . They are only one actor in a complex conflict where atrocities have been committed by the state, right-wing paramilitaries, and left-wing guerrillas not limited to FARC, such as ELN, M-19, and others. Colombia's National Centre for Historical Memory ,
4896-574: The FARC–EP, along with a large number of other leftist and communist groups, formed a political party known as the Union Patriótica ("Patriotic Union", UP). The UP sought political reforms (known as Apertura Democratica ) such as constitutional reform , more democratic local elections, political decentralization, and ending the domination of Colombian politics by the Liberal and Conservative parties. They also pursued socioeconomic reforms such land redistribution , greater health and education spending,
4998-616: The IRA over the three's return to Ireland adding that the Irish government would consider any request from the Colombian authorities for their extradition . Colombian vice-president Francisco Santos Calderón did not rule out allowing them to serve their sentences in Ireland. For most of the period between 2002 and 2005, the FARC-EP was in a strategic withdrawal due to the increasing military and police actions of new president Álvaro Uribe , which led to
5100-555: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism claimed Juan Manuel Santos was in control of two offshore companies in Barbados . Following this, Santos clarified that he left the managing board of one of these companies before holding a ministerial office. Santos is the son of Enrique Santos Castillo and his wife Clemencia Calderón Nieto, his brothers are: Enrique, Luis Fernando, and Felipe. The Santos family has been
5202-463: The Liberal–Conservative bipartisan system lasted until 1990. The 16-year extension of the bipartisan power-sharing agreement permitted the Liberal and Conservative elites to consolidate their socioeconomic control of Colombian society, and to strengthen the military to suppress political reform and radical politics proposing alternative forms of government for Colombia. During the 1960s,
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#17329084790565304-518: The Ministry of Defense was tarnished by the "False positives" scandal , the executions of thousands of civilians that the army passed off as guerrillas killed in combat. In 2010, Santos won the presidential election as the protégé of Uribe. Some months later, Uribe became his strongest opponent, and also founded three years later the opposition party Democratic Center . This rivalry determined both Santos' unpopularity and his near-missed defeat during
5406-480: The PCC's attempts at organizing peasants were met with violent repression by the Colombian government and the landowning class. U.S. military intelligence estimated that in 1962, the size of the PCC had grown to 8,000 to 10,000 active members, and an additional 28,000 supporters. In 1961, a guerrilla leader and long-time PCC organizer named Manuel Marulanda Vélez declared an independent "Republic of Marquetalia". The Lleras government attempted unsuccessfully to attack
5508-813: The University of Kansas, Santos served as Chief Executive of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia to the International Coffee Organization in London. During this time he also attended the London School of Economics , graduating with a Master of Science in Economic Development in 1975. He then attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University , graduating with
5610-415: The administration dealt a series of blows against the FARC guerrilla group, including the rescue of Fernando Araújo Perdomo , the death of FARC Secretariat member Raúl Reyes (a controversial military raid on Ecuador 's border), and the non-violent rescue of former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt held captive since 2002, along with fourteen other hostages, including three Americans. In 2008
5712-608: The administration of President Andres Pastrana Arango from 2000 to 2002. In 1992 he was appointed President of the VIII United Nations Conference on Trade and Development . In 1994 Juan Manuel Santos founded the Good Government Foundation, whose stated objective is helping and improving the governability and efficiency of the Colombian Government. This organization presented a proposal for
5814-506: The atmosphere, here, is tense, and it seems a revolution may be brewing. The countryside is in open revolt, and the army is powerless to suppress it." Diary of Ernesto "Che" Guevara , 6 July 1952 In 1948, in the aftermath of the assassination of the populist politician Jorge Eliécer Gaitán , there occurred a decade of large-scale political violence throughout Colombia, which was a Conservative – Liberal civil war that killed more than 200,000 people. In Colombian history and culture,
5916-428: The break off of dialogue, a letter written by a group of Colombian intellectuals (among whom were Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez ) to the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board was released denouncing the approach taken by the FARC–EP and the dire consequences that it was having for the country. In the early 1990s, the FARC–EP had between 7,000 and 10,000 fighters, organized into 70 fronts spread throughout
6018-444: The capture or desertion of many fighters and medium-level commanders. Uribe ran for office on an anti-FARC-EP platform and was determined to defeat FARC-EP in a bid to create "confidence" in the country. Uribe's own father had been killed by FARC-EP in an attempted kidnapping in 1983. In 2002 and 2003, FARC broke up 10 large ranches in Meta, an eastern Colombian province, and distributed the land to local subsistence farmers. During
6120-440: The communist groups in the early 1960s, attempting to re-assimilate the territories under the control of the national government. FARC was formed in 1964 by Manuel Marulanda Vélez and other PCC members, after a military attack on the community of Marquetalia . 16,000 Colombian troops attacked the community, which only had 48 armed fighters. Marulanda and 47 others fought against government forces at Marquetalia and then escaped into
6222-427: The communities to drive out the guerrillas, due to fears that "a Cuban-style revolutionary situation might develop". After the failed attacks, several army outposts were set up in the area. In October 1959, the United States sent a "Special Survey Team" composed of counterinsurgency experts to investigate Colombia's internal security situation. Among other policy recommendations the US team advised that "to shield
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#17329084790566324-400: The country. From 1996 to 1998 they inflicted a series of strikes on the Colombian Army, including a three-day offensive in Mitú ( Vaupés department ), taking a large number of soldiers prisoner. On 23 September 1994, the FARC kidnapped American agricultural scientist Thomas Hargrove and held him captive for 11 months. After his release, Hargrove wrote a book about his ordeal which inspired
6426-507: The country; Eduardo's brother, Enrique, grandfather of Juan Manuel, and editor in chief of El Tiempo , was known as " Calibán " to his readers, and his three sons, Enrique (Juan Manuel's father) and Hernando Santos Castillo, and Enrique Santos Molano were chief editor, director, and columnist respectively. Through his father's brother, Hernando, and his mother's sister, Elena, Juan Manuel is also first cousin on both sides to Francisco Santos Calderón , former Vice President of Colombia during
6528-474: The demilitarised zone. Shortly after the end of talks, the FARC-EP kidnapped Oxygen Green Party presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt , who was travelling in Colombian territory. Betancourt was rescued by the Colombian government on 2 July 2008 (see Operation Jaque below). On 24 April 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations published the findings of its investigation into IRA activities in Colombia. Their report alleged
6630-531: The end of 1990, the Colombian army, with no advance warning and while negotiations were still ongoing with the group, attacked and seized four linked bases. The last of these a compound known as Casa Verde, which housed the National Secretariat of the FARC–EP, was seized on 15 December 1990. The Colombian government argued that the attack was caused by the FARC–EP's lack of commitment to the process, demonstrated by continuing its criminal activities and FARC attacks in November. On 3 June 1991, dialogue resumed between
6732-427: The exercise of government power by presenting a joint National Front candidate to each election and restricting the participation of other political movements. The pact was ratified as a constitutional amendment by a national plebiscite on 1 December 1957 and was supported by the Church as well as Colombia's business leaders. The initial power-sharing agreement was effective until 1974; nonetheless, with modifications,
6834-486: The expense of the small-scale family farms that only yielded food supplies for local consumption. Based on a legalistic interpretation of what constituted "efficient use" of the land, thousands of peasants were forcefully evicted from their farms and migrated to the cities, where they became part of the industrial labor pool. In 1961, the dispossession of farmland had produced 40,000 landless families and by 1969 their numbers amounted to 400,000 throughout Colombia. By 1970,
6936-490: The extrajudicial killings because they consider that the government's reward policies motivated the crimes. Directive 029 of 2005 issued under Defence Minister Camilo Ospina Bernal and presidential decree 1400 of May 2006 have been questioned for offering incentives and benefits in exchange for capturing or killing members of illegal armed groups. In June 2009, United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston declared that extrajudicial executions had been carried out in
7038-416: The first two years of the Uribe administration, several FARC-EP fronts, most notably in Cundinamarca and Antioquia , were broken by the government's military operations. On 5 May 2003, the FARC assassinated the governor of Antioquia, Guillermo Gaviria Correa , his advisor for peace, former defence minister Gilberto Echeverri Mejía , and eight soldiers. The FARC had kidnapped Mr. Gaviria and Mr. Echeverri
7140-444: The historic peace accord. The event was widely reported in Colombia, yet never announced by the White House. In September 2017, Santos defended Colombia's record against Trump's complaints about what he called unacceptable growth in coca cultivation and production. Trump added that he considered downgrading the country in a White House assessment, which would result in reduced development and security funding. One source of contention
7242-432: The idea of a military invasion of Venezuela to drive out President Nicolas Maduro , which he and other Latin American leaders rejected at the time. During a Google hangout hosted by the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo on 20 May 2014, Santos voiced his support for same-sex marriage , saying: "Marriage between homosexuals to me is perfectly acceptable and what's more I am defending unions that exist between two people of
7344-611: The illicit narcotics industry in Latin America and Central Asia, has noted similarities in the reliance on the drug trade by both the FARC-EP and the Taliban . In his thesis, Labrousse asserts that the FARC-EP leadership, like that of the Taliban, explicitly bans the use of drugs by its membership and within the local population, but vigorously advocates for legalization of drug trafficking as a tool to finance its military objectives. In both cases,
7446-401: The insurgency groups manage to garner significant political support of farmers who serve to benefit from the illicit drug trade, prompting grassroots mobilization, political activism, and agitation to demand legalization by the government. In March 1999 members of a local FARC contingent killed three United States–based indigenous rights activists, who were working with the U'Wa people to build
7548-410: The interests of both Colombian and US authorities against 'interventionist' charges any special aid given for internal security was to be sterile and covert in nature". In February 1962, three years after the 1959 "US Special Survey Team", a Fort Bragg top-level U.S. Special Warfare team headed by Special Warfare Center commander General William P. Yarborough , visited Colombia for a second survey. In
7650-502: The kidnapping of several political figures, Pastrana ended the peace talks on 21 February 2002 and ordered the armed forces to start retaking the FARC-EP controlled zone, beginning at midnight. A 48-hour respite that had been previously agreed to with the rebel group was not respected as the government argued that it had already been granted during an earlier crisis in January, when most of the more prominent FARC-EP commanders had apparently left
7752-574: The killings are known as La Violencia (The Violence, 1948–58); most of the people killed were peasants and laborers in rural Colombia. In 1957–1958, the political leadership of the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party agreed to establish a bipartisan political system known as the National Front (Frente Nacional, 1958–74). The Liberal and the Conservative parties agreed to alternate in
7854-504: The lowest levels of popular approval ever, and his successor was Uribe's new protégé, Iván Duque , a moderate critic of Santos' peace treaty with the FARC guerillas. Santos was born in Bogotá, Colombia. He attended Colegio San Carlos , a private secondary school in Bogotá , where he spent most of his school years until 1967, when he enlisted in the Colombian Navy and transferred to
7956-517: The men with FARC-EP in an isolated jungle area, where they were thought to have spent five weeks. They could have spent up to 20 years in gaol if the allegations were proved. During October 2001, a key witness in the case against the three Irish republicans disappeared. This came as Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams admitted one of the men was the party's representative in Cuba. The missing witness,
8058-421: The mountains along with the other fighters. These 48 men formed the core of FARC, which later grew in size to hundreds of fighters. In 1982, FARC–EP held its Seventh Guerrilla Conference, which called for a major shift in FARC's strategy. FARC had historically been doing most of its fighting in rural areas and was limited to small-scale confrontations with Colombian military forces. By 1982, increased income from
8160-472: The national vote. Since 1986, thousands of members of the UP and other leftist parties were murdered (estimates range from 4,000 to 6,000). In 1987, the President of the UP, Jaime Pardo, was murdered. In 1989 a single large landholder had over 400 UP members murdered. Over 70% of all Colombian presidential candidates in 1990—and 100% of those from center-left parties—were assassinated. During this period,
8262-472: The part of perpetrators of misdeeds during the years of conflict would serve in place of retributive justice. The 52-year Colombian war has cost the country 152 billion (USD), according to conflict monitoring NGO Indepaz. Within the last five years the daily cost of the war has escalated to US$ 9.3 million per day – enough to feed 3 million people in Colombia and wipe out extreme poverty in that country. In May 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump and Santos held
8364-571: The people here and the people in Israel have been seeking peace for decades," adding that Colombia is in favour of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In September 2016, Santos announced that an agreement had been made completely settling the dispute between the Colombian government and FARC on the basis of a truth and reconciliation -like process, in which a combination of complete admissions of guilt and community service on
8466-473: The police and military members they held captive (whom they considered to be prisoners of war) through exchanges with the government for imprisoned FARC-EP members. During the duration of the DMZ negotiations, a small humanitarian exchange took place. Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón GColIH GCB GColL ODB ( Spanish: [ˈxwam maˈnwel ˈsantos kaldeˈɾon] ; born 10 August 1951)
8568-471: The previous administration from 2002 to 2010. Santos first married Silvia Amaya Londoño, a film director and television presenter, but divorced three years later having no children together. He then married María Clemencia Rodríguez Múnera , or " Tutina " as she is known to those close to her, an industrial designer he had met while she worked as a private secretary at the Ministry of Communications and he
8670-437: The principle of joint responsibility. Consumer countries' authorities have a fundamental responsibility to their fellow citizens and the world to reduce consumption and to attack trafficking and distribution organizations in their own countries. In July 2018, Santos called on Trump to urge Russian president Vladimir Putin to stop supporting Venezuela's authoritarian government. Santos has acknowledged that, in 2017, Trump raised
8772-407: The profound conviction that the consumption, production and trafficking of drugs constitute a serious threat to the well-being and security of citizens. Colombia is undoubtedly the country that has fought the most drugs and with more successes on this front. No one has to threaten us to meet this challenge. The problem of drugs is global. Overcoming it can only be achieved through cooperation and under
8874-499: The relationship between the guerrillas and the marches was ambivalent: FARC-EP promoted the 1996 protests as part of their participatory democracy policies yet also exercised authoritarianism , which led to tensions and negotiations with peasant leaders, but the cocalero movement brought proposals on behalf of the coca growers and defended its own interests. French sociologist Alain Labrousse, who has conducted extensive research on
8976-547: The same sex with the rights and all of the same privileges that this union should receive." On 20 November 2013, Santos announced his intent to run for re-election in a presidential address, and formalized his intent by filing election papers with the National Civil Registry on 25 November. As the incumbent president he ran virtually unopposed in the Social Party of National Unity convention, receiving 772 votes of
9078-462: The start of the FARC insurgency hoped a peaceful negotiation with FARC, which required a Santos victory, would help rehabilitate the left among the Conservative-Liberal dominated political scene in Colombia. On 14 March 2017 Santos acknowledged that his 2010 election campaign received illegal payments from Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht . In November 2017, an investigation conducted by
9180-590: The subsequent displacement of 80 individuals in San Carlos, Antioquia. In early February 2005, a series of small-scale actions by the FARC-EP around the southwestern departments of Colombia, resulted in an estimated 40 casualties. The FARC–EP, in response to government military operations in the south and in the southeast, displaced its military centre of gravity towards the Nariño , Putumayo and Cauca departments. The FARC-EP originally said that they would only release
9282-537: The upcoming elections, Santos officially launched his campaign for the presidency of the Republic of Colombia. On 20 June 2010, after two rounds of voting in the Presidential election , Juan Manuel Santos Calderón was officially elected as President of Colombia and was inaugurated on 7 August 2010 in the midst of a diplomatic crisis with Venezuela , which was quickly resolved. Santos announced on 27 August 2012 that
9384-509: The vast majority of former FARC members have honored the 2016 peace agreement. However, in August 2024 the government announced an end to a ceasefire with the smaller dissident FARC faction the Estado Mayor Central, EMC, who reject the 2016 peace deal. "There is more repression of individual freedom here, than in any country we've been to; the police patrol the streets, carrying rifles, and demand your papers every few minutes ...
9486-534: The votes, falling behind his main rival, Óscar Iván Zuluaga Escobar of the Democratic Center , who obtained 29.25% of the votes. Since no one candidate earned the required majority, a run-off election was announced. In the second round, Santos received the backing and support of his former electoral rival: Clara López Obregón of the Alternative Democratic Pole , as well from dissident members of
9588-611: The war that has gone on for fifty years. On 25 August 2016, the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, announced that four years of negotiation had secured a peace deal with FARC and that a national referendum would take place on 2 October . The referendum failed with 50.24% voting against. On November 24, 2016, the Colombian government and the FARC signed a revised peace deal , which the Colombian Congress approved on 30 November. On 27 June 2017, FARC ceased to be an armed group, disarming itself and handing over its weapons to
9690-401: The working class. These groups began networking together to present a defensive front against the state-supported violence of large landholders. Members organized strikes, protests, seizures of land, and organized communist-controlled "self-defense communities" in southern Colombia that were able to resist state military forces, while providing for the subsistence needs of the populace. Many of
9792-466: Was a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in 1966 from peasant self-defense groups formed from 1948 during the "Violencia" as a peasant force promoting a political line of agrarianism and anti-imperialism . They are known to employ a variety of military tactics , in addition to more unconventional methods, including terrorism . The operations of
9894-554: Was almost universal, which increased the rates of preventable disease and infant mortality. Communists were active throughout rural and urban Colombia in the period immediately following World War I . The Colombian Communist Party ( Partido Comunista Colombiano , PCC) was formally accredited by the Comintern in 1930. The PCC began establishing "peasant leagues" in rural areas and "popular fronts" in urban areas, calling for improved living and working conditions, education, and rights for
9996-408: Was also at this conference that FARC added the initials "EP", for " Ejército del Pueblo " or "People's Army", to the organization's name. In the early 1980s, President Belisario Betancur began discussing the possibility of peace talks with the guerrillas. This resulted in the 1984 La Uribe Agreement, which called for a cease-fire , which ended up lasting from 1984 to 1987. In 1985, members of
10098-439: Was appointed by President Andrés Pastrana Arango as the 64th Minister of Finance and Public Credit . Santos rose to prominence during the administration of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez , who was elected in 2002. In 2005, Santos co-founded and led the Social Party of National Unity (Party of the U), a liberal-conservative party coalition that backed the policies of President Uribe, successfully supporting his attempt to seek
10200-637: Was arrested by Danish police and questioned about attempting to provide financial aid to a number of groups on EU's list of banned terrorist organisations, which included FARC, Euskadi Ta Askatasuna and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). In 2008 the Columbian Minister of Justice called upon the Danish government to extradite Mac Manus to Columbia to stand trial. On 15 March 2010 Mac Manus
10302-467: Was much smaller than his landslide result in 2010, was credited with strategic endorsements from left-wing politicians such as Clara López who appeared on a T.V. endorsement for Santos despite having nearly polar opposite views on many issues. This helped Santos, who had been neck and neck with his Conservative challenger on polls up to the second election round. Many among the Left whose fortunes had declined since
10404-755: Was sentenced to 6 months' probation in Denmark for attempting to violate section 114b of the Criminal Code on support for terrorist organizations by soliciting financial support for FARC and PFLP. Mac Manus died on 12 August 2011 This Irish biographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Danish biographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . FARC Governments: Governments: The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo , FARC–EP or FARC )
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