Reintegrated Guerrillas, The New Life of FARC

Colombia has been in civil war for more than 60 years. The first step to achieving peace was made in 2016 with the peace agreement between FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) – one of the main armed Marxist groups operating in Colombia – and the Colombian Government after four years of negotiations in Cuba, under the government of Juan Manuel Santos.
Six years have passed and, according to former guerrillas, many points of the agreement have still not been respected, mainly because of the change of government, with the election of Iván Duque Márquez to the presidency. Today there is a glimmer of hope, the guerrillas who signed the peace are optimistic: “Now we can really hope for a total peace agreement,” says Marcos Martinez, battle name Sigfredo, leaders of the former guerrillas of the FARC of San Luis community in La Guajira where live some guerrillas of the process of reintegration into Colombian society. The historic rise to the government of the Left, with the proclamation of Gustavo Petro as president, gave new hope to the Colombian people and the former guerrillas of the peace agreement. Since the peace agreement, about 400 former guerrillas have been murdered. The approximately 14,000 former guerrillas, since the peace agreement, have become part of the process of reintegration into society and have organized themselves in various communities. In the communities of the former guerrillas many activities are carried out, such as agriculture, construction, textile production, and collaborate with neighboring communities, despite the initial fear of the inhabitants.
The agreement was the first step, but now we must lay the real foundations for lasting peace in Colombia. Not only with the FARC, but with all the guerrilla groups of all the factions operating in the country. Only in this way can the Colombian people really live again, and leave behind decades of civil war. Colombia is attempting the path of forgiveness to build a new society that includes all its citizens The people now have a hope that total peace can really be achieved, with the will of all parties to put an end to this ten-year conflict.