Colombia’s Inspector General’s Office has issued a damning report revealing significant failures in the implementation of the historic 2016 peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The former rebel group has substantially defaulted on its commitment to transfer assets intended to fund reparations for victims of Colombia’s decades-long conflict.
The comprehensive assessment shows FARC has delivered merely 252 kilograms (556 pounds) of the promised 444 kilograms (979 pounds) of gold. The land transfer commitment appears even more deficient, with only one of 722 pledged rural properties handed over to authorities. Financial contributions similarly lag at just 17% of the agreed amount.
This landmark peace deal, which ended over five decades of armed struggle, granted FARC combatants amnesty from prosecution, permitted their transformation into a political party, and allocated ten congressional seats for former members. In return, FARC leadership pledged to surrender their collective assets to finance reconciliation initiatives including rural infrastructure development, conflict memorials, and truth commission proceedings.
Former FARC commander José Lisandro Lascarro, alias ‘Pastor Alape,’ defended the group’s efforts, citing security complications in former territories now contested by emerging armed factions. He explained that inaccessible cash reserves buried in remote regions and lack of formal property titles have hampered asset transfers, despite UN-supervised procedures.
The peace implementation faces additional challenges as the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) tribunal experiences critical funding shortages. Currently, only 17% of the necessary budget exists to execute court-ordered reparations for victims of FARC kidnappings and military extrajudicial executions, potentially undermining the entire reconciliation framework.