Negotiating with Guerrillas: A Bumpy Peace for Colombia

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FEATURING: Juan Fernando Cristo, former Colombian Minister of Interior who played a key role in the peace deal; now, he is running for president.

Colombia, after years of negotiations, signed a peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas who had waged war against the government and civilian population for decades. Reaching agreement with the FARC was one thing. Implementing the agreement is another. Not only must the guerrillas disarm, the government must work to integrate into civilian society people who have no job skills except waging war. The civilian population is extremely suspicious of the peace agreement and of the intentions of the disarmed guerrillas who were, until a few months ago, trying to kill them. As Minister of Interior (equivalent of Homeland Security Secretary in the US), Juan Fernando Cristo played a key role in the negotiations. He resigned on May 25 and announced he was running for president. The elections are in May 2018.