September 8, 2017

On Wednesday, September 6, Pope Francis (Papa Francisco in Spanish) arrived in Bogotá, Colombia, for a five-day apostolic journey to the South American nation. Apostolic is another word for papal or having to do with the pope. Hundreds of thousands of people turned out to welcome the pope, who is particularly popular in the mostly Roman Catholic nations of Latin America. Francis is from Argentina and has been leader of the Roman Catholic Church since 2013.

Pope Francis and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos talk during ceremonies at Casa de Nariño, the presidential palace in Bogotá, Colombia, on Sept.7, 2017. Credit: © Raul Arboleda, AFP/Getty Images

Yesterday, September 7, Francis met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at Casa de Nariño, the presidential palace in Bogotá, where he congratulated the Nobel Peace Prize winner on ending a decades-long civil war between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The FARC formed in the mid-1960′s as a guerrilla group with Communist ideals. Santos oversaw a peace process that culminated in a historic treaty with the FARC in November 2016. A month later, Santos accepted an invitation from Francis and visited the pope at Vatican City. The pope then promised to go to Colombia in return.

The theme of Francis’s Colombian journey is Demos el primer paso (Take the first step), a reference to the peacemaking process in Colombia—which is not yet complete. Violent drug cartels still reign in pockets of the country, and a second revolutionary group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), is still conducting peace talks with the government.

Yesterday afternoon, Francis visited the Catedral Primada (Primary Cathedral) in Bogotá’s teeming Bolívar Square, and he delivered a blessing from the the Cardinal’s Palace next door. Francis then held an outdoor Mass before more than 1 million worshipers at the city’s Simon Bolívar Park. Today, September 8, Pope Francis is in the central city of Villavicencio for a Mass and the beatification of Jesús Emilio Jaramillo Monsalve and Pedro María Ramírez Ramos, priests who were both assassinated during times of violence in Colombia. Beatification is the declaration by papal decree that a dead person is among the blessed in heaven and deserves religious honor.

Tomorrow, Francis’s visit to the northwestern city of Medellín will include a Mass and a stop at the Hogar San José orphanage. Francis will wrap up the apostolic journey on Sunday in the Caribbean coast city of Cartagena, where events will include services at the church and plaza of San Pedro Claver. The church contains the preserved remains of San Pedro Claver (1581-1654), a priest who dedicated his life to helping enslaved peoples of Spanish America. He is the patron saint of slaves and also a patron saint of the nation of Colombia.

Francis is the first pope from Latin America and the first Jesuit pope. Jesuits are members of a religious order called the Society of Jesus. Francis is known for his commitment to social justice, especially for the poor; his humble lifestyle; and his conservative religious beliefs. This was his fifth visit to Latin America since becoming pope. His previous stops were in Brazil; Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay; Cuba; and Mexico.

December 8, 2016

Last week, on November 30, Colombia’s Congress ratified a revised version of a historic peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a guerrilla group with Communist ideals. The agreement officially ended more than half a century of civil war that claimed the lives of over 220,000 people and displaced millions of others. The ratification began a period of six months during which FARC is expected to disarm and form a political party. The government also faces the task of passing laws to implement provisions of the deal.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos prepares to sign a peace agreement ending decades of conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The signing ceremony took place at the Teatro Colón in Bogotá, the capital, on Nov. 24, 2016. Credit: © César Carrión, GIS (Government Information System)

An original peace agreement, signed in September, was rejected by a small majority of Colombians in a referendum (direct public vote) held October 2. Opponents of this agreement, which was negotiated from 2012 to 2016, said it was too lenient on former FARC rebels. For example, it provided that guerrillas who confessed to crimes would not serve traditional jail time and guaranteed FARC representation in Congress for several years. Days after the referendum, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the civil war. In announcing the prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee expressed its hope that the award would give Santos strength to continue the peace process.

Government and FARC representatives returned to the negotiating table to craft a revised deal as a fragile cease-fire kept the country peaceful. The government also consulted critics of the original agreement so it could take into account their concerns and reach an agreement with broader support. On November 12, the government and FARC announced they had reached a revised deal, which they signed on November 24. The new agreement was submitted to Colombia’s Congress for approval rather than subjected to a second referendum. The Senate voted 75-0 in favor of the deal on November 29, and the lower house approved it, 130-0, the next day. Legislators of the conservative Democratic Center party, led by former President Álvaro Uribe, boycotted both votes. Although the new agreement included dozens of changes, the political opposition maintained that it was too lenient and should have been subject to a referendum. Significantly divisive issues included the lack of conventional jail sentences and FARC’s participation in politics.

Lawmakers faced the challenge of implementing the agreement as quickly as possible, while thousands of armed FARC members remained in transition between guerrilla and civilian life. The killing of two FARC members by Colombian security forces on November 16, days after negotiators reached a final agreement, illustrated the necessity of a timely resolution.

October 12, 2016

Last Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that it had chosen Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos as the recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. The committee cited Santos’s “resolute efforts to bring the country’s more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, a war that has cost the lives of at least 220,000 Colombians and displaced close to six million people.” Since 1964, Colombia’s government had been engaged in a conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a left-wing guerrilla group with Communist ideals. Santos initiated negotiations between the government and the FARC that yielded a historic peace agreement. However, Colombians narrowly rejected the agreement in a plebiscite (public vote) held on Oct. 2, 2016.

Nobel Prize medal (Credit: Nobel Foundation)

Santos’s government began peace talks with the FARC in 2012 in Havana, Cuba, and negotiations had continued off-and-on ever since. The latest round of talks focused on six main topics: agrarian reform; political participation by the FARC; drug trafficking, which financed the group; justice for civil war victims; disarmament, demobilization, and social reintegration of FARC guerrillas; and implementation of the agreement.

In August 2016, Santos and Rodrigo Londoño, lead negotiator for the FARC, announced they had reached a final peace agreement, which they signed in late September. The agreement was subject to public approval, and a celebratory mood and polls leading up to the plebiscite suggested Colombians were hungry for peace and would accept the deal. Santos had emphasized the deal’s importance by stating that there was no “Plan B” if it failed. The nation was left reeling and international observers were shocked after a slim majority of 50.2 percent rejected the deal. Opponents of the deal, led by former President Álvaro Uribe (a long-time hardliner opposed to any negotiations with the FARC), viewed the terms of peace as too lenient. For example, guerrillas who confessed to their crimes would not go to prison but would instead perform such acts of reparation as clearing land mines. The deal also would guarantee the FARC 10 seats in Colombia’s Congress from 2018 to 2026.

Following the vote, both Santos and Londoño expressed intentions to continue working toward peace. Santos also sought to create a dialogue with Uribe and the deal’s opponents. A cease-fire between the FARC and the government remained in place. After awarding the Peace Prize to Santos, the Nobel Committee expressed its wish “to encourage all those who are striving to achieve peace, reconciliation and justice in Colombia.” The committee also stated the belief that “much of the groundwork has been laid for…disarmament of the FARC guerrillas and a historic process of national fraternity and reconciliation.” Santos dedicated the Nobel Prize to all Colombians who have suffered from the civil war, and he donated the monetary prize of 8 million Swedish kronor (about $925,000) to the war’s many victims.