U.S. Government - Colombia Peace

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits Colombia. He voices strong support for the peace process and indicates that the Obama administration is willing to assist the post-conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry “expressed his enormous respect for the peace process in Colombia and highlighted the advances of the country, the work and leadership of President Santos to achieve a much safer and prosperous country,” according to a Colombian Foreign Ministry readout of a meeting, at the OAS General Assembly in Guatemala, between Kerry and Colombian Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín.

U.S. State Department Acting Deputy Spokesperson Patrick Ventrell says, “The agreement on land reform is the first ever between the Colombian Government and the FARC, and as such the terms of its – and in terms of its substance it’s a highly positive step forward in the peace negotiation. So we’ve long given our strong support for President Santos and the Colombian Government as they pursue lasting peace and security that the Colombian people deserve.”

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, on a May 26-27 visit to Colombia, praises the land accord and the FARC-government process, which he calls “serious and well designed.” Biden added in a joint appearance with President Santos, “Just as we supported Colombia’s leaders on the battlefield, we support them fully at the negotiating table.”
U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Peter Michael McKinley calls the accord “an advance that encourages the possibility that these negotiations are going to end the conflict in Colombia.”

“Today, Colombia’s pursuing a historic peace effort with the FARC,” says U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, announcing that he will visit Colombia at the end of the month. “And just as we have supported Colombia’s leaders in the battlefield, we’ll fully support their efforts to end the conflict at the negotiating table.”

On a visit to Bogotá, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Rajiv Shah, says, “On behalf of the United States and of President Obama, we want to reaffirm our commitment for economic support, and to be one of the principal allies for Colombia in its peace process. … As we discussed with the President [Santos], in the government of the United States we are very optimistic that the process is going to be very fruitful, and we are going to continue lending our support. … We are going to respond to all requests that President Santos makes to help and develop this process.” Shah also gives an interview to Colombia’s Semana magazine.

62 members of the U.S. House of Representatives send a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry expressing support for the Colombian government’s peace talks with the FARC, urging a greater role for victims, and encouraging the U.S. government to take steps to support the talks and a possible post-conflict transition.

“If peace is achieved, this country has no limits,” [says]( http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/actualidad/si-se-logra-la-paz-este-pais-no-tiene-limites-embajador-de-eeuu-en-colombia/20130319/nota/1861908.aspx ) U.S. Ambassador Peter Michael McKinley. “The fact is, the U.S. government supports every effort to negotiate an end to the Colombian internal conflict.”

On a visit to Colombia, White House Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough tells Semana magazine that the United States has no intention of freeing jailed FARC leader Simón Trinidad, whom the guerrillas say they want on their negotiating team. This position is repeated on December 6 by State Department spokesman Mike Hammer.

U.S. State Department Spokesman Mike Hammer: “Here in the United States, of course, we fully support the efforts by the Colombian government to advance the peace process, because one wants to see that the FARC finally abandon its terrorist methods, abandon violence, and cease their links to drug trafficking. So, this peace process is going to start in Oslo soon; let’s hope it is successful, because the Colombian people have been asking for many decades to be able to live in peace and tranquility, and possibly this process can move forward, and we want it to the successful.”

Statement of support for government-FARC talks from U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland