After handing over their guns, guerrillas fear for their future
Colombia’s new president is accused of reneging on peace accords meant to end decades of conflict
IT IS not the absence of her rifle or waking up without her faded military fatigues that makes a new life away from the Farc an uneasy adjustment for Sandra Talaga.
“One of the strangest things I’ve had to get used to is just sleeping inside,” the 25-year-old said, sitting in her bare room in Monterredondo, an isolated mountain village that hosts one of several eerily quiet “transition camps”, where former guerrillas are supposed to be retrained for civilian life.
“The other was not having to do certain things at certain times of the day, having the freedom to do what we want.”
Ms Talaga is one of thousands of Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) fighters who demobilised after a peace deal was signed in 2016.
That deal, which ended one of the world’s longest-running civil conflicts, is now under strain amid fears that a new president will rewrite the concessions granted to the militants.
Leaders of Farc, which has now become a political party, are warning newly inaugurated president Iván Duque against abandoning the commitments of the accords, as the country experiences a surge in violence from agitated dissidents.
Former combatants interviewed by The Daily Telegraph in Monterredondo said they were frustrated that promised support and training to help with the transition to civilian life had not been available.
They warned that the government’s more hard-line position risks forcing former fighters to abandon the “reincorporation” programme – leaving them easy prey for Right-wing paramilitaries and other armed groups filling the vacuum left by the Farc.
Some factions are rumoured to be paying a one-off bonus of £5,000 to new recruits, a small fortune for an ex-guerrilla struggling to get by.
“There is a lot of anger that the government is not fulfilling its commitments as it is supposed to,” said Ms Talaga. “They’re not providing the employment opportunities they said they would.
“It is easy to see why some within our ranks might take up arms again, even if we don’t agree with it.”
Ms Talaga spent seven years as a Farc fighter and is now one of 14,000 former Marxist rebels seeking to start a new life.
The peace deal was signed in 2016 by Mr Duque’s predecessor, Juan Manuel Santos, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
More than 300 members of Farc arrived in Monterredondo to hand over their weapons as part of the demobilisation in August 2017, but now only 60 remain. Nationally, just 4,000 former combatants are still in the country’s transitional camps, according to the UN.
In recent weeks there has been a spike in violence in former rebel areas. Last month, there were six parallel bomb attacks in northern Cauca, attributed to dissident Farc groups.
The Telegraph was twice prevented from reaching the transition camp due to roadside bombs as well as torrential rain triggering mudslides. There are also concerns as to the whereabouts of four senior former guerrilla commanders who have not been seen in public for several weeks.
Fears have been raised that they may have returned to the jungle to join dissident factions or that they may be in hiding. The Farc leadership denies the alleged defections and says it is committed to peace.
The UN warned last month that the goal of providing new opportunities in civilian life for the ex-combatants was far from being realised.
It pointed out that most of the “reincorporation” schemes in place are self-funded by the former rebels, rather than the government.
The Farc leadership has accused the new government of stalling over a one-off payment of approximately £2,000, which was pledged to each ex-combatant for the creation of “reincorporation” projects. Demobilised fighters are receiving a monthly grant of £180 for two years.
In Monterredondo, in the absence of government initiatives, the former combatants have launched several projects themselves.
Ms Talaga is part of a team of 12 women who make dolls. “Learning how to sew will be my ticket out of here,” she said.
A few hours away from Monterredondo, in Tuluá, 30 excombatants have created a cooperative with local farmers, who have cleared space on their land to allow the former guerrillas to grow crops.
“We saw no way of achieving anything that would secure our future in the camp,” said Harold Ordoñez, a former rebel.
“That’s why we decided to leave. The local community is doing more than the government to help us. We need something that is long-term and sustainable.”
The cooperative has recently signed a contract with a large multinational to provide coffee beans, but because the ex-combatants do not own the land they work on, they are not eligible for the additional financial support from the government.
“We accept that the responsibility to reintegrate is ours, but if the government can’t guarantee our security or give us the land and space they have promised us for work, how can we move forward?” said Mr Ordoñez, who described the
‘It is easy to see why some of us might take up arms again – even if we don’t agree with it’
government’s slow progress with the peace process as a “betrayal”.
Victoria Sandino holds one of 10 seats the Farc was guaranteed in Congress until 2026 by the peace deal.
“The real threat to peace is government policy,” she said. “If they don’t comply with the agreement or try to change the accords then this will undoubtedly generate more frustration among our people and subsequently create more violence.”
Rodrigo Rivera, a former peace commissioner whose role is to monitor the implementation of the peace accords for the president, denied that the peace process was at risk.
“The government is not stalling. These projects must come from the former combatants with full business plans and a clear strategy so they’re viable,” he said. “If they have the project, the government has the money.”
A report from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies in the US this month said 39 per cent of the peace accords had not been implemented. However President Duque said in his inauguration speech that he is committed to the reinsertion of the guerrillas into society.
He added that his government would make changes to the accords to better represent the victims of the country’s armed conflict, which left at least 260,000 dead, some 60,000 missing and seven million displaced. Last week, Mr Duque asked the UN to extend its monitoring mission in Colombia. Before the peace deal was signed, the Farc expressed concern that demobilised fighters would be targeted for revenge killings.
More than 60 former members have been killed since 2016, including five near Monterredondo last week. All showed signs of torture, according to the authorities.
Carlos Antonio Acosta, a former Farc commander, said: “Our people are scared that they’ll be killed, or they’ll starve if they can’t find a job. The government needs to listen.”
In the camp in Monterredondo Ms Talaga is still mulling the routine of the civilian world. “It’s been hard to be responsible for ourselves,” she said. “Everything was provided before.”
But faced with questions over her future, her tone changes. “Many of our comrades have left to be with their families,” she said. “But many of us have nowhere to go. I have no house, no home and so I have to stay here. And to be honest, I’m scared.”