Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was present on Aug. 15, as the last weapons of the FARC rebel group were sealed in containers and taken away by the United Nations.
This concludes a 53-year-old armed conflict between the FARC and the Colombian government and marks the end of the ceasefire stage of peace negotiations and the beginning of the FARC‘s integration into Colombia as a political actor.
“The verification process is finished, both the cease fire and the abandonment of weapons, which is the primary mission of the United Nations, and now the verification by the United Nations of the FARC‘s reincorporation into the political, economic and social life of the country begins,” FARC leader, Ivan Marquez said.
Speaking at the event in a rural area in Colombia’s Caribbean state of La Guajira, President Santos noted, “we just witnessed something truly historic,” and characterized the event as, “the last breath of this conflict that lasted 53 years.”
The Chief of the U.N. Mission confirmed that his mission has taken control of over 8,000 weapons and presided over the destruction of 1.3 million cartridges.