A landmark agreement between leftist FARC rebels and the Colombian government over how the guerrillas could transition from violence into politics marks a crucial turning point on the road to end this country's 50-year internal conflict, though many pitfalls remain. Negotiators for the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who have been meeting in Havana for a year, announced the partial agreement on political participation, which would take effect only once a broader agreement to end the conflict is reached.

Colombia`s Santos administration and FARC guerrillas have unveiled an “historic agreement” on “political participation”. Today`s announcement hopes to breathe life back into a year long peace process that faces growing skepticism. The FARC have promised finally after 50 years of conflict to trade the bullet for the ballot box. We`re now a third of way through the talks, with two of the six points on the agenda being signed off. Excellent, you might think.

A human rights commission in the House of the Representatives will hear testimony this Thursday from the United States government, NGOs, think tanks, and members of civil society on the state of human rights in Colombia. The bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will discuss the ongoing peace talks in Havana, Cuba, between Colombia’s largest rebel group FARC and the government, the development of land restitution programs, and labor rights issues, according to the hearing brief.

On October 13th the administration of the president, Juan Manuel Santos, and the leftist guerrillas of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) finalised a new round of negotiations in Cuba amid growing uncertainty over the future of the peace process.

Peace talks to end Colombia's half century of conflict resumed today following a brief but tense suspension amid complaints from leftist rebels that the government moved too quickly on some of the thorniest issues the two sides must tackle. Delegates from the government of Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) met this morning in Havana, Cuba, despite a surprise “pause” in negotiations declared by the FARC on Friday.

Colombia's police are already strategizing for the end of the country's conflict with Marxist rebels, even as the task of combating the guerrillas is increasingly falling to the police instead of the military. With talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) now almost a year old, General Jose Roberto Leon Riaño, who was director of the Colombian National Police until earlier this month, declared "the new model of service [for the police] is anticipating a post-conflict scenario, a scenario of peace."

A few months ago Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was on a roll. Two out of three Colombians approved of the Santos government—a rock-star standing by the bruising political standards of the Andes. The country’s $370 billion economy was soaring, overtaking Argentina as the fifth largest in Latin America. Foreign investors lined up as prospectors found oil, gas, and coal practically everywhere they dug. Crime, once a national scourge, was plunging. The only thing missing was peace.

Press reports of Secretary of State Kerry’s description of the Western Hemisphere as “our backyard” overlooked the next words, “[our] neighborhood … I think there are relationships we could improve.” [1] The focus on “our backyard” caused President Evo Morales to announce on May 1, 2013 that he was expelling the USAID mission from Bolivia because, among other accusations, it reminded hemispheric leaders of U.S. relations toward the hemisphere during the Cold War.