US revokes FARC terrorist designation and adds separatist groups

The United States on Tuesday will revoke the designation of the Colombian group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia as a foreign terrorist organization, while designating two separatist groups as such, a senior State Department official said on Friday.

A review of the terrorist list – required every five years by US law – concluded that the left-wing organization known by its Spanish acronym FARC should no longer be listed, the official said.

But the two splinter groups that formed from the FARC, La Segunda Marquetalia and FARC-EP, or People’s Army, would be designated as foreign terrorist organizations, the official said.

“It’s a realignment to deal with today’s threats,” the official said. “The FARC that existed five years ago no longer exist.”

Founded in 1964, the FARC was responsible for the summary executions and kidnappings of thousands of people, including Americans.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the United States was preparing to withdraw the FARC from the list five years after the group signed a peace agreement with Bogotá.

The State Department notified the US Congress on Tuesday of the FARC’s closure plan. The Colombian government was formally notified on Wednesday.

The Colombian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The decision will allow US government agencies, such as the US Agency for International Development, to work on implementing peace in parts of Colombia where demobilized FARC soldiers are located, the official said.

This is a priority for the Colombian government in implementing the peace agreement”, said the official.