the former FARC guerrillas take up arms

The decision of a group of former FARC guerrillas, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, to take up arms seems to have moved the Colombian population far more than the incessant murders of social leaders or candidates in municipal and provincial elections. October.

It's logical somewhere. the violence of the various guerrillas was and still is an integral part of the daily life of citizens, who are anxiously aware of the possibility of a resumption of a major war. In any case, he was the president of Colombia himself, Ivan Dukewho – through an article in The Washington Post– He badured the world that it is "a small number of criminals" that he described as "narcoterrorists" and "gangs that were encouraged, protected and supported in Venezuela by the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro", wishing "Continue their drug trafficking activities. "

In addition to considering that Venezuela is behind this rearmament – and that of Caracas deny categorically – two elements can be emphasized in the words of the president. On one side, it's only a small group that decides to get up again. With this statement, he endorses the words of the main leaders of the FARC party who claim to represent the majority of the demobilized guerrillas, in addition to "feeling ashamed" and apologizing to the Colombian people and the international community for the group that has decided to resume the armed struggle. .

On the other hand, the link that this new group would have with drug trafficking, as if the problem of drugs in this country was the guerrilla heritage. Colombia has been the world's largest producer of cocaine for many years and the fight for its production and export in the United States has involved many sectors of society, which largely explains the violence that has been going on for years. It should be remembered that over the last decade, more than 60 congressmen have been convicted for their links with paramilitaries and drug trafficking. They were not exactly guerrilla supporters.

In view of the October regional elections, the Election Observation Mission (EOM) pointed out that from the beginning of the electoral calendar 11 months ago to the end of August this year, 364 political, social and political leaders were victims of violence, including murder. of 91 of them.

Violence in Colombia is not unidirectional and has many variables. But if we used the phrase "money or lead" attributed to the drug dealer Pablo Escobar, we could say that the dilemma in all respects is "peace or lead".

Note posted in CNN in Spanish