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On Sunday, Colombian voters narrowly rejected the government’s peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in a stunning referendum vote that has thrown the peace process into disarray.

All that was left was for voters to approve it in a nationwide referendum on Sunday. Most observers saw the vote as a mere formality that would officially bring an end to the 52-year war that left 220,000 people dead and displaced millions.

nearly every poll predicted that it would be approved by the people with a comfortable margin.

Last month, the mayor of Colombia’s main port city, Buenaventura, was arrested on corruption charges

Corruption is a very big structural problem in Colombia. It permeates all levels of government and society, public and private.

Corruption is closely linked to other illegal and criminal activities, such as drug trafficking and illegal mining, which makes it much more difficult to tackle. Some surveys show that Colombians see corruption as the country’s main problem, even more than violence.

A new report ranks Colombia and Mexico as the least peaceful nations in Latin America -- however, this definition of "peace" may not accurately reflect the state of security in the region. 

The GPI's ranking system is somewhat perplexing, given that Central American countries with higher homicide rates -- namely, Honduras and El Salvador -- are considered more "peaceful" than Colombia and Mexico

Last year, both El Salvador and Honduras registered homicide rates higher than 60 per 100,000 people, more than double that of Colombia.

President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, days after Colombia rejected a peace deal he pursued.

Then on Friday, President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia won the peace prize for his efforts to bring the country’s “civil war to an end” — only days after his country rejected the peace deal in a referendum.

The changes to the agreement with the rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the FARC, were announced in Havana and addressed a range of topics — such as where rebels would be confined after disarming and how courts might address drug trafficking offenses — that negotiators said had troubled voters.

The agreement also appeared to withdraw a promise of guaranteed seats for rebels in Congress — one key demand of those who said the rebels would be unfairly rewarded with political positions.

If a final accord is signed within six months, as the negotiators have pledged, Colombia would offer an example of hard-won peacemaking at a time when so many other conflicts, which are spawning the largest wave of refugees since World War II, seem intractable.

As of last year, the three-way fight among guerrilla factions, government forces and right-wing paramilitary bands that often acted as proxies for the state, had killed more than 220,000 people and displaced an estimated 5.7 million. At the peak of the conflict, in 2000, kidnappings for ransom surpassed 3,000 a year.

The talks have forced Colombians to take stock of a painful past and face uncomfortable truths. Dozens of victims traveled to Havana to speak about abuses they endured at the hands of guerrilla leaders. Some implicated government forces in brutal acts. When I met some young FARC members in Havana last year during a reporting trip, I came to see them in a new light as they described taking up arms as a desperate choice they were forced to make to survive.

“Colombians will have two options, between those who prefer an end to the war and those who want a war without end,” Mr. Santos said after the results were made public. His main challenger, Óscar Iván Zuluaga, a former treasury minister, received 29 percent of the vote, with more than 99 percent of polling stations counted, officials said. Mr. Santos received slightly more than 25 percent in the field of five candidates.

Mr. Santos, 62, had cast himself as the peace candidate and urged voters to empower him to finish talks he started in 2012 with the rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Mr. Zuluaga, 55, an ally of the right-wing former president, Álvaro Uribe, has been a harsh critic of the talks and could break them off if he becomes president.Colombia, a country of 47 million people, is one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America and has received billions of dollars in American aid in recent years to combat drug trafficking and guerrilla groups.

After a half century of war, and after four years of grinding negotiations, the Colombian government and leaders of the country's insurgency reached an accord in August to end a conflict in which more than 220,000 people were killed and six million displaced

Polls had the yes vote comfortably ahead by a 2-to-1 ratio.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc, after the initials in Spanish) are Colombia's largest rebel group.

They were founded in 1964 as the armed wing of the Communist Party and follow a Marxist-Leninist ideology.

They are controlled by the Secretariat, a group of less than a dozen top commanders who devise the overarching strategy of the Farc.

NECOCLI, Colombia — As the Colombian government nears a deal to end its 50-year conflict with FARC guerrillas, it is intensifying another war in the jungles here along the Caribbean coast, the stronghold of a shadowy drug organization known as Clan Úsuga.

Both the government and the traffickers know that a big share of Colombia’s billion-dollar cocaine trade will be up for grabs if FARC — whose rebellion runs on drug profits — goes out of business. Some of its 7,000 battle-hardened fighters may be looking for new jobs. Clan Úsuga will be hiring.

That $10 billion program, funded by Congress, is considered by many Republicans and Democrats to be one of the most successful U.S. foreign policy achievements of the past generation, forcing FARC to the negotiating table after a half-century of violence that has left more than 220,000 dead.

The aim of this international peacekeeping mission is to support Colombia’s justice and peace process. Its mandate was extended in 2010 to include support for the land restitution process and implementation of the Victims and Land Restitution Law.

The Mission also helps to identify new armed parties and advises Colombia on alternative methods of resolving conflicts and strengthening democracy.

The international community pays into a fund to facilitate the work of MAPP/OEA. In 2015 funds were received from the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, the USA, the EU and Turkey as well as from Germany. This money is used to support MAPP/OEA’s general mandate and all the associated activities. BMZ has a financing agreement in place with MAPP/OEA.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to end a 52-year-old war with Marxist guerrillas, a surprise choice and a show of support days after voters rejected a peace deal he signed with the rebels.

Santos has promised to revive the plan even though Colombians narrowly rejected it in a referendum on Sunday.

The fact that a majority of the voters said ‘No’ to the peace accord does not necessarily mean that the peace process is dead.”

The Colombian government and left-wing Farc rebels have signed a historic agreement that formally brings an end to 52 years of armed conflict.

The last of the major Cold War conflicts killed 260,000 people and left more than six million internally displaced.

We will achieve any goal, overcome any hurdle and turn our nation into a country we've always dreamed of - a country in peace."

the presidents of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru met with little fanfare in Cartagena last week to seal an economic pact launched in 2012. They call their project the Pacific Alliance, and it will soon include Costa Rica

The four founding members are the most successful economies in Latin America; they boast the region's highest economic-growth rates and lowest inflation rates. Together, they represent 36 percent of the region's economy, 50 percent of its international trade, and 41 percent of all incoming foreign investment. If the Alliance were a country, it would be the world's eighth-largest economy and seventh-largest exporter. Its members lead the lists of the most competitive economies in Latin America and those where it’s easiest to do business.

the Pacific Alliance has already yielded more results in its 20 months of existence than similar initiatives that have been around for decades. The four countries have eliminated 92 percent of all import tariffs among them. Chile, Colombia, and Peru have linked their stock markets so that a company listed in one of the exchanges can be traded in the other two. Mexico is expected to follow suit this year, meaning this integrated stock market will rival that of Brazil as the largest in Latin America. The four countries have eliminated the need for business and tourist visas for visiting nationals of bloc members. In a break with tradition, the joint communiqués of Alliance presidents tend to be brief and concrete in terms of goals, timelines, and roadmaps.

caught in the crossfire between the nations to the south (principally Peru, Colombia and Bolivia) that produce illegal narcotics and the country to the north (America)

Mexico and Colombia – partially funded by the US – stepped up surveillance of aircraft and airspace. Simultaneously the US began more vigorous co-operation with Mexico to stop drugs shipments by sea.

the concept of the "transit" nations was born – countries in Central America through which drugs were passed en route to the world's largest drugs market,

In a world dominated by horrific forever wars, Colombia's agreement with the Farc guerrilla movement stands out as an extraordinary moment for this country, and a rare affirmation of the power of peace talks.

"What we have seen in Colombia is an example that if you work hard at it, with a lot of international support, you can get something worthwhile," he said, while a Colombian choir rehearsed Beethoven's Ode to Joy on the edge of the picturesque harbour.

Every conflict is different, but every peace process throws up similar challenges and controversies.

"I will keep seeking peace until the last minute of my term," said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, after voters rejected his peace deal with the left-wing Farc rebels.

The deal aimed to put an end to more than five decades of conflict, which left an estimated 260,000 people dead and millions internally displaced.

Less than a decade ago, while serving as defence minister, he authorised the controversial bombing of a Farc camp in Ecuador without informing the neighbouring country.

To reaffirm our support for the objectives set out in the Declaration of the Decade of the Americas for the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities (2006-2016) and its Plan of Action

advance in strengthening the protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of older persons through promotion of public policies, programs, and services, thus safeguarding their dignity, their physical, mental and social well-being, and their quality of life

To strengthen the administration of public security by governmental agencies through promotion of citizen and community participation, institutional coordination, and training and education of civilian and police personnel, with full respect for the rule of law, domestic law, gender equality, and human rights.