Members of the now disbanded FARC have nominated ex-leader Rodrigo Londono, known as 'Timochenko,' to run for president in next year's election. Londono and other ex-rebels may face trials for human rights crimes.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Arboleda
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Colombia's demobilized guerilla movement FARC has said veteran leader Rodrigo Londono will be their candidate in the presidential election in 2018.
Londono, better known by his alias Timochenko, became the leader of the FARC rebels in 2011. He played a key role in the peace process to end more than five decades of war that killed at least 250,000 people.
"The common people and those who dream of a new country will have their representation," said Ivan Marquez, a former rebel leader who served as chief negotiator during talks with the government.
The Marxist FARC are now called the Revolutionary Alternative Common Force party, but still refer to themselves by the Spanish initials FARC.
FARC's new political party has said it is willing to form a coalition with other leftist parties. It's assured of at least 10 seats in the Congress by the peace accord, irrespective of election results.
"We manifest our willingness to hold talks with all social political groups and movements to make united lists," the FARC said in a statement.
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.
Image: Reuters/A. Meneghini
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Slim chances
A good showing by FARC in next year's election seems unlikely at present. Polls within Colombia show the FARC remains unpopular, with many Colombians still doubting FARC's commitment to peace.
FARC leaders say their election platform would prioritize eliminating corruption, promoting social and economic equality and eradicating poverty.
Imelda Daza Cotes, who is FARC's candidate for vice president, said the party did not wish to change the nation's economic model but to improve it.
"We want a model that is more inclusive," she said. "A model that is more humane."
Questions over potential trials
Londono and fellow former rebel fighters are likely to face trials for crimes like murder, kidnapping and rape. It remains unclear how they would serve in office if sentenced.
Special tribunals would hear the cases and could hand out sentences of up to eight years. Those convicted would not be sent to traditional jails but instead would be ordered to do reparations work like removing land mines.
