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1 1 (March 9, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govecnu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ~.Research Service Colombia: Challenges for U.S. Policymakers in 2021 March 9, 2021 Colombia's close alliance with the United States has been forged over 20 years from an enduring security and counternarcotics partnership initiated under Plan Colombia and Peace Colombia. These strategies helped end a five-decade internal armed conflict that killed some 260,000 Colombians and displaced millions. Targeted violence still grips the country, complicated by a steep economic contraction of 6.8% due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Many Members of Congress continue to focus on priority aspects of the U.S.-Colombia relationship: close collaboration on security and countering illicit drugs that are destined mainly for the U.S. market; trade, energy, and other forms of cooperation; and Colombia's human rights record and social investment policies to foster post-conflict stability. Illicit cultivation of coca peaked in 2019 but remains at historically high levels, and Colombian cocaine is one driver of an overdose crisis in the United States. Colombia presents a paradox for some observers. On the one hand, Colombia's reckoning with its long, drug-fueled conflict continues to divide the country. On the other hand, Colombia's innovation in addressing its security challenges, such as receiving nearly 2 million Venezuelans fleeing their crises- ridden country, points to Colombia's continued capacity for regional leadership. Peace Accord Developments and Human Rights Concerns Colombia's 2016 peace treaty with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) resulted in the demobilization of 13,000 insurgents and the transformation of the FARC from a leftist guerrilla army to a political party. The party, now called Comunes, temporarily holds guaranteed seats in Congress. The peace accord also established a transitional justice court, called the JEP by its Spanish acronym, to identify and punish crimes committed during the conflict. Often hindered by controversy, the JEP produced in early 2021 two significant indictments of grave human rights crimes: In late January, the JEP ruled that eight top former FARC leaders, including two sitting in the Colombian Congress and the FARC's former supreme leader, were guilty of war crimes related to kidnapping and hostage abuse. The accused former combatants indicated they would accept the charges, affording them access to alternative sentencing of 8 years rather than a 20-year prison sentence under regular justice. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11631 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Membersand Committeesof Congress

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