Colombia peace agreement: Humberto de la Calle reflects on FARC demobilization

Ten years after the landmark peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla group, former chief negotiator Humberto de la Calle is reflecting on the pact's legacy. De la Calle argues that while the implementation of the agreement has fallen short of expectations under subsequent administrations, the demobilization of 13,000 combatants remains an unprecedented achievement.

He suggests that if the FARC had remained active, the country's current territorial instability and multipolar forms of violence would be even more complex. While acknowledging critics who argue that FARC leadership should have faced harsher prison sentences for their crimes, De la Calle emphasizes the necessity of finding a compromise to achieve the historic demobilization of the nation's oldest guerrilla group.

The peace agreement, signed on November 24, 2016, in Havana, aimed to end more than half a century of armed conflict in Colombia.