United States Revokes Terrorist Designation Imposed on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), While Designating Splinter Groups
On November 30, 2021, the Biden administration announced that it would remove the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) from the Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) lists, reversing designations originally imposed in 1997 and 2001 in the midst of conflict in Colombia. The revocation of the designations occurred five years after the 2016 Peace Accord between the Colombian government and the FARC, pursuant to which “the FARC formally dissolved and disarmed.” However, while delisting the FARC, the State Department announced that it would designate as FTOs and SDGTs two FARC splinter groups and their leaders who have “refused to demobilize” and continue to “engage[] in terrorist activity.”