In Colombia, the drug war may soon be coming to an end. In early May, negotiators from the Colombian government and the rebel group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) reached an agreement on drug trafficking as part of their effort to end the country's 50-year old conflict. Shifting away from old, controversial methods like crop fumigation, the new deal focuses on substituting crops, taking on organized crime and cartels, and treating drugs as a public health issue to treat addicts and reduce demand. It's a historic move -- and good news for President Juan Manuel Santos, who faces an increasingly popular opposition candidate in second-round elections on June 15.
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The global drug problem is larger than Colombia. Yet Colombians and observers around the world are hoping that this deal on drugs will have the power to truly tackle the drug trade, move the country toward peace, and promote the inclusion of marginalized populations into the formal economy and mainstream social life. The prospects for broader success hinge in part on factors beyond Colombia's control -- but could be greatly bolstered if other countries follow Colombia's lead.Oliver presents a host of ways in which a government-FARC deal could have positive repercussions throughout Colombian society and the region. I'm hopeful but I guess I'm not as optimistic given the limited transformative powers of the Guatemalan, Salvadoran, and Nicaraguan peace agreements. They were each impressive in their own right but still left much to be desired.
In Colombia, I've also heard that there is (potentially) a great deal of oil and other natural resources located in land controlled by the FARC. For some reason, I keep thinking Guatemala here and the conflict over natural resources. Colombia and Guatemala are today two of the world's most dangerous countries for labor, land and other human rights activists, and I can see these demobilized and demilitarized areas entering into a new era of conflict.
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