Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has introduced a bill that will reimpose sanctions on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, typically referred to by the acronym FARC. The Biden administration removed the group from the United States terrorist watchlist in 2021 while adding two splinter groups and six associated individuals.
Placing terrorist groups on the watchlist is one of the primary methods the U.S. has available to dissuade terrorist organizations and individuals associated with terrorist organizations and activities. Groups added to the list lose access to U.S. financial institutions and are barred from entering the U.S.
“The Biden Administration’s reckless decision to dismantle terrorism sanctions on the FARC has already created catastrophes,” Cruz said in a statement. “It fueled leftwing movements throughout the Western Hemisphere but especially in Colombia, contributing to the momentum that brought a hard-left anti-American government to power.
“The FARC is responsible for some of the most heinous acts of terror in the western hemisphere, and this decision gave up a key tool through which the U.S. was holding FARC terrorists accountable. My bill will begin to repair the damage of this decision.”
It is uncommon for groups or individuals to be removed from the watchlist, a step typically taken only when an organization is fully dismantled and disarmed or when individuals on the list are killed.
According to a press release issued by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in November 2021, the group was removed after the State Department determined that both FARC and the Colombian government had largely upheld the terms of a 2016 peace agreement.
The two splinter groups that were added — Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) and Segunda Marquetalia — both grew out of the collapse of leadership following the peace deal.
“The decision to revoke the designation does not change the posture with regards to any charges or potential charges in the United States against former leaders of the FARC, including for narcotrafficking,” Blinken wrote, “nor does it remove the stain of the decision by Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction of Peace, which found their actions to be crimes against humanity.
“However, it will facilitate the ability of the United States to better support implementation of the 2016 accord, including by working with demobilized combatants.”
Jason Blazakis is a professor at Middlebury College and the director of the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism who has previously worked with various U.S. government agencies to add to and modify terrorist watchlists. He believes that the decision to remove FARC is a positive step forward both for the U.S. and Colombia.
“The decision to remove the FARC from the State Department’s FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization) list made sense to me and other experts because the FARC has lived up to key elements of the peace deal,” Blazakis wrote in an op-ed published by The Conversation. “The FARC has largely turned in its arms and made a good-faith effort to become part of the Colombian political system.”
Blazakis explained that the decision signals to other groups and individuals on the list that there is light at the end of the tunnel if they cease terrorism and join a legitimate political system. Only 17 groups have been removed from the terrorism watchlist since it was initially created in 1997.
The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and has been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
