HomeNewsBriefSantos: No US Extradition for FARC
BRIEF

Santos: No US Extradition for FARC

EXTRADITION / 2 MAR 2015 BY ARRON DAUGHERTY EN

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos has said he will seek to prevent US extradition for leaders of guerrilla group the FARC, in a move that will stoke the country's vociferous opposition, but which the United States might be open to. 

"No one is going to turn in their weapons to go die in a North American prison. That's completely unrealistic," Santos said in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais. Colombia's President will personally work with the United States to find a solution, he added. 

When questioned as to how guerrilla leaders might be punished within Colombia, Santos was less direct, stating the difficulty of drawing a line between justice and peace, and adding that the former should not impede the latter. Santos left open the possibility of house arrest instead of prison for guerrilla leaders, calling it "something that we could bring ourselves to agreement on."   

InSight Crime Analysis

The Santos administration has officially been in peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest left-wing guerrilla group, for more than two years. How rebel leaders should be held accountable for alleged acts of terrorism and drug trafficking committed during more than 50 years of conflict has been a major issue overshadowing the talks. Complicating the matter are standing extradition orders for multiple FARC leaders, primarily related to drug trafficking, as well as several leaders already imprisoned in the United States.

While US officials have yet to speak on Santos' comments, it is plausible they would consider flexibility on these extradition orders. Not only does Colombia represent a key regional ally and major recipient of US aid and investment, but the United States has already shown signs of softening its approach to the guerrillas. US Special Envoy Bernard Aronson reportedly met with members of the FARC delegation on both February 28 and March 1, with few details yet emerging from the behind-closed-doors meeting in Cuba.     

SEE ALSO: Colombia News and Profiles

However, while the US may be willing to work with Santos, he still faces opposition at home from the vocal ultra-conservative opposition led by former-President Alvaro Uribe, who recently visited the United States in an apparent attempt to whip up opposition to the talks among US lawmakers.

As part of Colombia's proposed peace process, any deal agreed between the FARC and the government must also be voted on by the Colombian people, making the public relations battle extremely important and US input potentially influential.  

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 3 OCT 2022

Colombian guerrillas evolved from seeing Venezuela as a safe place to retreat to seeing it as a full-blown expansion of…

CRIMINAL MIGRATION / 6 OCT 2022

El Salvador will hold off on extraditing a top MS13 gang leader to the United States to face terrorism charges.

EL SALVADOR / 14 JUL 2022

A turnaround in El Salvador’s position on extraditing gang members has come amid US pressure and rumblings in the criminal…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…