Colombia's FARC rebels have said they will forfeit their assets in order to pay victim's reparations. The announcement has come ahead of a nationwide referendum on the peace deal between rebels and the government.
Initially, the guerrilla group said they did not have money to pay victims since all their funds went into the war effort. However, the FARC said they will forfeit all assets to fund the reparations, as per the terms of the recent peace accord.
"We will proceed to declare before the government all the monetary and non-monetary resources that have formed part of our war economy," the Marxist group, which has fought the government for 52 years, said in a statement.
Colombia's rebels apologize for war once again
02:05
This browser does not support the video element.
Colombian authorities have said the FARC possesses large tracts of land as well as cattle ranches, shops and construction companies. These assets have allegedly helped the rebel group launder money gained from kidnapping and extortion as well as drug trafficking.
Critics of the peace deal have argued that the rebels would not pay reparations even if they had money available.
"We will proceed to the material reparations of victims," the FARC statement said. The peace deal requires FARC to surrender all money and properties before the group can transition into a political party.
The reparations will be given to the victims of FARC murders, kidnappings, bombings and displacements.
Referendum for peace
The peace deal was signed by the leftist rebels and the government on Monday after over a decade of conflict and four years of negotiations.
Colombians vote Sunday on whether or not to accept the peace accord in a nationwide referendum. The measure is set to pass by a wide margin, according to recent polls.
Colombia's civil war, which began in 1964, killed an estimated 260,000 people and left an additional 45,000 missing. The conflict also displaced nearly 7 million people in a country of 47 million.
If voters approve the peace deal on Sunday, FARC guerillas must disarm and demobilize within 180 days. The process will be monitored by the United Nations.
Latin America's longest armed conflict comes to an end
The Colombian government has reached a historic truce with FARC, ending over half a century of violence with the leftist group. Latin America's longest conflict claimed at least 220,000 lives.
Image: Reuters/A. Meneghini
How the insurgency started
In 1948, the assassination of populist leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan sparked political chaos in Colombia known as "the violence." Tens of thousands died and peasant groups joined with communists to arm themselves. Later in 1964, a military attack on the insurgency's main encampment led to the creation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
What the rebels wanted
FARC's political ideology has never been well defined. Initially, it sought to weaken the oligarchy's grip on power. The rebels also wanted land reforms in a country where more than 5 million people have been forcibly displaced, mostly by far-right militias. However, the group lost popularity as it turned to kidnapping and illegal gold mining for funds.
Image: Reuters
How the US got involved
To help the Colombian security forces fight against the insurgency and to counter drug-trafficking, the US began sending billions of dollars under Plan Colombia. The US State Department classifies the group as a terrorist organization and its leaders face US indictments.
Image: Reuters/J. Vizcaino
The human cost of the conflict
Latin America's longest-running armed conflict is responsible for the death an estimated 220,000 people, while millions of Colombians have been displaced within their country. According to Bogota’s estimates, there are 7.6 million direct and indirect victims of the conflict. The country has more landmine victims than any country except for Afghanistan.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Escobar Mora
Peace accord after decades of failed attempts
Peace talks between FARC and the government collapsed in the mid 1980s after at least 3,000 allies of FARC's political wing Patriotic Union Party were killed at the hands of right-wing paramilitaries. Efforts fell short again in 2002 after the rebels hijacked an airliner to kidnap a senator. The latest round of talks started in 2012 in Havana and culminated on August 24, 2016 with a deal.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Abramovich
50 years of conflict
"We have reached a final, integral and definitive agreement" to end the conflict and build a stable, lasting peace, the government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia said in a joint statement. In June, the negotiators had already announced a cease-fire agreement and a blueprint for how the estimated 7,000 to 8,000 fighters will demobilize.
