[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2508]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                COLOMBIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention 
of this body the current negotiations taking place in Cuba between the 
Colombian Government and the FARC, which is a U.S.-designated terrorist 
organization. That deal is dangerous for Colombia and for our U.S. 
national security.
  Let me explain. As a friend of the Colombian people, I have been a 
proponent of widening and strengthening our bilateral ties with 
Colombia by supporting the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion 
Agreement. This agreement has helped many companies in my congressional 
district of south Florida strengthen their trade capabilities with 
Colombia.
  I have also supported Plan Colombia, a collaborative effort alongside 
the Colombian Armed Forces and security forces aimed at improving the 
security environment. Plan Colombia enjoys wide bipartisan support, 
resulting in a significant reduction in the cultivation of coca in 
years past, record dismantling of labs, and drastically reducing 
kidnappings, which are an important source of revenue for the FARC.
  Despite great advances in the conflict during the Uribe 
administration prior to President Santos, I have expressed serious 
misgivings about the negotiation initiated by the Colombian Government 
with the murderous Castro regime as a supposedly impartial mediator.
  Mr. Speaker, the Castro brothers run an impressive communist state, 
with complete disregard for human rights, due process, and a notorious 
history of supporting nefarious actors throughout the region.
  Using Cuba as a mediator in the negotiation is misguided, at best. It 
is widely known that the Castro brothers have been great supporters of 
the terrorist group FARC, have allowed the FARC to use Cuba as a safe 
haven, and have even trained some FARC terrorists in guerilla warfare 
tactics.
  Yet, despite knowing that the Castro regime has internationally 
voiced strong support for the FARC, even lending materiel and monetary 
aid to the rebels, we expect the Castros now to be acting as impartial 
mediators? Absolutely not, Mr. Speaker.
  With the Colombian Government negotiating with the FARC and with Cuba 
as a mediator that is supposedly impartial, the pending agreement 
includes no jail time for any of the FARC criminals. These criminals 
have kidnapped and tortured scores of Colombian citizens and have even 
held American citizens hostage. No jail time.
  According to the agreement, if the FARC members admit to their 
crimes, they would be put in what is the equivalent of house arrest 
from 2 to 8 years--8 years is the maximum--and they would not serve any 
jail time and they will not be extradited to the United States to face 
any charges they have pending here.
  You heard that right, Mr. Speaker. This agreement could include a 
request to drop any arrest warrant and drop any extradition process 
from the United States that we have filed to prosecute members of the 
FARC. This is completely unacceptable, Mr. Speaker.
  I am also concerned about provisions in the agreement that would 
allow members of the FARC to run for political office, as they would 
likely use the massive funds that they have from their illegal 
narcotics trade to finance their campaigns and further undermine what 
the Colombian people are trying to achieve by having a safe, secure 
Colombia again.
  Evidence has shown that, since the negotiations began with the FARC 
in Havana, coca cultivation numbers in Colombia have increased. From 
2014 and 2015, we have seen an increase of drugs flowing from Colombia. 
Who do we think is responsible for that? The FARC. Who is making more 
money from narcotrafficking? The FARC.
  What I find most disturbing, Mr. Speaker, was the call by the 
Colombian Government to remove the FARC, an organization with American 
blood on its hands, from the U.S. State Department's Foreign Terrorist 
Organizations List.
  Lastly, there are several unanswered questions about the 
implementation of this misguided deal. How will the FARC disarm? How 
will they surrender their weapons? What role will the United Nations 
play as it oversees the implementation of the process? Will the Obama 
administration continue its pattern of granting concessions and end up 
releasing FARC leader Simon Trinidad, who is serving time in our 
prison?
  Mr. Speaker, the United States must reexamine this agreement and urge 
the Colombian Government to address some of these grave concerns. We 
have a responsibility to our taxpayers to be good stewards of their 
funds as well as a moral imperative to support and seek justice for the 
victims of the FARC, not their perpetrators.

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