Temer to attend signing of peace agreement with FARC in Colombia

President Michel Temer is expected to take part in the signing of the historic peace agreement between Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), slated for next Monday (Sep. 26). The ceremony, to be held in the Colombian city of Cartagena de Indias, will seal the end of 50 years of armed conflicts in the country.

Cuban leader Raul Castro is also expected to attend the ceremony, along with the presidents of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and Chile, Michelle Bachelet, who are to act as mediators.

The pact will be signed by President Junan Manuel Santos and the main leader of the FARC, Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri, known as Timoleón Jiménez, or Timochenko. The cerimony is held after over three years of negotiations.

The terms of the deal will be subjected to a referendum in Colombia on October 2. Also with the purpose of concluding negotiations and dismantling the group as an armed organization, the FARC are promoting a conference with approximately 200 delegates, in which they will also discuss its change into a political party.

Long history

The armed conflict between FARC and the Colombian Army is regarded as the oldest of its kind in South America. In its most active years, the group went as far as to kidnap and murder to defend what it deemed its ideals, among which land reform and the creation of a socialist state.

Among its famous hostages is Senator and former presidential hopeful Ingrid Betancourt, who was kept under the control of guerrillas for six years and was rescued by the Colombian Army in 2008 along with 15 other people.

Since 1964, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 220 thousand people in Colombia. The FARC are also on the international list of terrorist organizations and once had 7.8 thousand soldiers working in its forests and national borders.

*With information from Ansa Brasil.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira