The former president of Uruguay, Pepe Mujica, met with senior FARC officials in Cartagena, northern Colombia, on Friday 4 May to offer his support to the peace process and to encourage detained FARC peace negotiator and congress member-elect Jesús Santrich to remain positive despite his predicament.
Santrich was arrested in Bogota on 9 April following a US extradition request on allegations of conspiracy to traffic cocaine. JFC has called on the Colombian government to ensure that the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), which was created as a core element of the peace agreement, retains competence in the case of Santrich.
In a letter to Jesús Santrich, Mujica wrote: ‘Not all is won, but nor is it all lost. The struggle for peace is alive and it continues to be fought. In reality, it is for a new Colombia and many interests cross for that. I ask you to keep faith in life and in those who fight for all that has been neglected’.