Colombia's Juan Manuel Santos Hypes Success At Council of the Americas
Colombia's Juan Manuel Santos Hypes Success At Council of the Americas
At the Americas Society’s Gold Insigne ceremony on September 26, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos detailed his successes over the last two years of his term in office.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos lauded his administration’s security, foreign policy and economic successes over the last two years during an event Wednesday night following his address at the United Nations.
Speaking at the Council of the Americas, where he was honored with the organization's Gold Insignia Award, Santos said that Colombia currently has one of its lowest homicides rates in the past 35 years and kidnappings are at an all-time low. He also highlighted the death and capture of many top members of the leftist guerilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
“The security situation in Colombia is continuing to improve,” Santos said. “The conditions are very fertile to start negotiations to end 50 years of war.”
The Colombian government and the FARC recently announced that they will hold joint peace talks in an effort to end the half century-long internal civil conflict that has seen 50,000 and 200,000 people killed and 2.4 million and 4 million people internally displaced.
Santos said that he was “cautiously optimistic” in the lead up to the talks that will formerly start on Oct. 8 in the Norwegian capital of Oslo....
During his speech at the Council of the Americas, Santos – a regular speaker at the organization’s events – said that he would like to have the peace talks resolved by next year.
“I hope that next year when I come back to the council I can say there is peace in Colombia,” Santos said….
