Justice for Colombia (JFC) firmly rejects the decision taken by the outgoing government of the United States to designate Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism” on 12 January 2021.
JFC also rejects the efforts of several members of the political party of the Colombian President to call for a revaluation of the relations between Colombia and Cuba on the back of this designation.
JFC reminds the international community that Cuba has been a key and dedicated actor in terms of its support for peace in Colombia.
As emphasised in a JFC statement of May 2020, written in response to the decision of the US government at the time to include Cuba in a list of countries that it considers are “Not Cooperating Fully” with “US Counterterrorism Efforts”, the accusation against Cuba in relation to the situation with the peace negotiators of the ELN is baseless.
The insistence of the Colombian government to seek the extradition of the negotiators goes against the protocol signed between both sides in the talks. It is worth emphasising that this type of protocol is the international standard for peace processes.
As well as serving as guarantor country along with Norway, Cuba hosted the talks that led to the signing of the historic agreement of November 2016 between the Colombian state and the FARC-EP. When peace talks between the Colombian state and the ELN reinitiated in 2018 Cuba once again opened its doors for the negotiations after failed attempts in various countries.
The attempt to discredit Cuba and deny the reality of its support for peace puts the future of Colombia’s peace processes in danger, but it also serves as an attack on all those who have been committed to supporting these efforts.
JFC calls on all individuals, institutions, and governments who continue to work for the advancement of peace in Colombia to demonstrate their opposition to this attempt to discredit Cuba and to emphasise the importance of Cuba’s work in support of peace.
27 January 2021, London