The US government has included in its list of terrorist organizations the two main groups in the dissidence of the extinct Colombian guerrilla guerrilla group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC): those led by Luciano Marín Arango, known as Iván Márquez, and Miguel Botache Santillana, nicknamed by Gentil Duarte.
Speaking to a small group of journalists, a US government official said on condition of anonymity that the administration of President Joe Biden notified Congress on Tuesday (23) of its intention to remove the FARC from the list and include its dissent.
As a result of the inclusion of these two groups on the US terrorist list, their leaders will continue to be banned from entering the United States and their access to the dollar-based international financial system will be restricted, among other punitive actions.
In addition, according to the official, Washington will maintain the economic sanctions already imposed on Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, a former director of the Venezuelan military secret services, currently detained in Spain and wanted by the US for drug trafficking crimes related to the FARC.
The governor of the Venezuelan state of Trujillo, Chavez Henry Rangel Silva, and Amílcar Figueroa, who was president of the Latin American Parliament, both accused by Washington of helping the now extinct FARC in drug and arms trafficking, will also continue to be sanctioned.
The US administration notified the Colombian government on Wednesday (24) of the changes it had made to the list of terrorist organizations, the official said.
On Tuesday, it was leaked to the press that Biden had decided to remove the FARC from the list of terrorist groups, which it was included in in 1997, and notified Congress of the intention. It was not yet known that this notification also included Washington’s decision to include the dissident blocs of Iván Márquez and Gentil Duarte.
The Biden government’s changes to the list of terrorist organizations are expected to officially take effect in late November or early December, the official said.
This Wednesday marks the fifth anniversary of the peace agreement signed on November 24, 2016 between the Colombian government – then chaired by Juan Manuel Santos – and the now demobilized FARC.
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