Colombia, FARC rebels reach deal to end half-century war

The government’s accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia must still be ratified by voters in an Oct. 2 plebiscite in order to take effect.

The accord, whose final text has yet to be published, commits Colombia’s government to carrying out aggressive land reform, overhauling its antinarcotics strategy and greatly expanding the state into traditionally neglected areas of the country.

Polls say most Colombians loathe the rebel group known as the FARC and show no hesitation labeling them “narco-terrorists” for their heavy involvement in Colombia’s cocaine trade, an association for which members of the group’s top leadership have been indicted in the U.S. Meanwhile, the FARC held onto a Cold War view of Colombia’s political and economic establishment as “oligarchs” at the service of the U.S.

The rebel army was forced to the negotiating table after a decade of heavy battlefield losses that saw a succession of top rebel commanders killed by the U.S.-backed military and the its ranks thinned by half to the current 7,000 troops.

The most contentious breakthrough came in September when the president traveled to Havana to lay out with FARC commander Rodrigo Londono a framework for investigating atrocities, punishing guerrillas for involvement in those abuses and offering compensation to victims.