Bogotá, Colombia
Peace deal in jeopardy: The Colombian rebel group FARC said the historic peace deal that ended its five-decade insurgency will crumble if one of its leaders is extradited to the U.S. to face cocaine-trafficking charges. Colombian authorities arrested Seuxis Hernández-Solarte, a FARC commander and peace negotiator, this week after a federal court in New York indicted him for cocaine production and distribution. The 2016 peace deal promised immunity to FARC leaders, all of whom were wanted in the U.S. for drug trafficking, if the group quit the drug trade. The indictment says Hernández-Solarte has continued his cocaine business. FARC claimed the arrest was a “set-up” by the U.S. and Colombia “to decapitate the political leadership of our party.”