CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government and the country’s largest rebel movement have signed a historic peace accord ending a half-century of bloody combat.
President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londono, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, signed the 297-page agreement before a crowd of 2,500 foreign dignitaries and special guests in the Caribbean city of Cartagena.
Monday’s deal must still be ratified in an Oct. 2 referendum. If it passes, as is widely expected, the rebels will turn over their weapons to United Nations-sponsored observers in the next six months while forming a political party. The FARC will be guaranteed a minimum 10 seats in congress over the next two legislative periods.
Opponents have criticized the deal for sparing guerrilla leaders jail time if they confess to war crimes.
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