FARC leader arrested on drug charges (April 10, 2018)

Colombian authorities arrested a FARC leader due to assume a seat congress on U.S. charges of drug trafficking yesterday. Seuxis Hernández, known by his nomme de guerre Jesús Santrich, was a negotiator for peace on behalf of the now disbanded guerrilla group, and is a representative of the political party that assumed the same name. 

A U.S. grand jury in the Southern District of New York indicted Hernández and three others last week. They are charged with conspiracy to export 10 tonnes of cocaine worth $320 million in street value to the United States, reports Reuters. According to the Interpol red notice requesting his detention, the alleged crimes were carried out from July of last year through this month.

The arrest is a surprising turn of events for the FARC. Though all of its leadership was wanted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges, the former rebels were promised immunity from prosecution for past crimes as part of a 2016 peace deal, reports the New York Times. But Hernández is accused of drug trafficking after the deal. 

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos spoke yesterday, alongside Attorney General Néstor Martínez. He emphasized that the crimes allegedly committed by Hernández occurred after the peace deal's signature, and thus will be judged through the regular justice system rather than the transitional justice tribunal negotiated in the accord, reports Semana. "The accords are clear: Whoever commits a crime after the signing of the deal will be sent to the courts for the new crimes committed," he said. Colombian authorities are awaiting a formal extradition request from the U.S.

The arrest sparked condemnation by the FARC, which said it was an attack on the peace process. In a press conference earlier today, leader Iván Márquez said the capture represented a critical juncture for the peace process which could end in failure, reports El Espectador. FARC leadership believes the charges could be trumped up, and note Martínez's opposition to the peace accord.

The arrest will represent a blow for the peace process, of which Hernández was a big symbol, reports La Silla Vacía. He particularly had support among the guerrilla group's rank and file, and the detention is likely to exacerbate discontent with how the peace process is being implemented.

The capture will likely become an electoral issue, in the midst of a presidential campaign that has focused on critics of the peace accord.

Earlier today the president of the transitional justice system said the body would be reviewing the alleged crimes to ensure they were committed after the peace accord, reports El Tiempo.

News Briefs

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