Florida Senate - 2023 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SM 160
Ì766156;Î766156
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
02/21/2023 .
.
.
.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and
Domestic Security (Avila) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 78 - 85
4 and insert:
5 to Colombia, a longstanding ally of the United States in Latin
6 America, and opposes the Biden Administration’s revocation of
7 the FARC’s designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Legislature urges
9 the United States Secretary of State to redesignate the FARC as
10 a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch
12 copies of this memorial to the President of the United States,
13 the President
14
15 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
16 And the title is amended as follows:
17 Delete lines 5 - 72
18 and insert:
19 (FARC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization pursuant to
20 section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as
21 amended.
22
23 WHEREAS, Colombia is among the oldest standing democracies
24 in Latin America, and
25 WHEREAS, the United States established diplomatic relations
26 with Colombia in 1822, and
27 WHEREAS, Colombia is a constitutional republic where the
28 people of Colombia hold the power and elect representatives to
29 exercise that power, and
30 WHEREAS, in October 1997, the United States Department of
31 State designated the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
32 (FARC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and
33 WHEREAS, after many years of violence and armed conflict,
34 Colombia is now the United States’ strongest ally in Latin
35 America, and
36 WHEREAS, with the support of the United States through Plan
37 Colombia and the State of Florida, Colombia has transformed from
38 a volatile and near-failed state in 2001 into a stable and
39 prosperous democracy with a growing free market, and
40 WHEREAS, May 15, 2023, will mark the 11-year anniversary of
41 the effective date of the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion
42 Agreement, which has supported economic growth and employment
43 opportunities in Colombia, the United States, and the State of
44 Florida, and
45 WHEREAS, the State of Florida is responsible for roughly 25
46 percent of all trade between the United States and Colombia, and
47 WHEREAS, the United States, the State of Florida, and
48 Colombia have shared a commitment to promoting security,
49 prosperity, human rights, and democracy in Colombia and across
50 the Western Hemisphere, and
51 WHEREAS, in recent years, the Colombian government has
52 taken courageous steps to enforce the law, stop drug
53 traffickers, and rein in foreign terrorist organizations like
54 the National Liberation Army (ELN) and FARC, and
55 WHEREAS, the State of Florida continues to support the
56 Colombian people in their efforts to preserve peace, support
57 human rights defenders, promote greater educational
58 opportunities, increase public and private investments, and
59 respect human rights and the rule of law, and
60 WHEREAS, the United States maintains a strong commitment to
61 cooperating with Colombia to investigate, arrest, and prosecute
62 members of transnational criminal organizations and to dismantle
63 terrorist groups like the ELN, FARC, and Hezbollah, whose
64 illicit activities, specifically narcotrafficking, for many
65 years devastated Colombia and other Western Hemisphere
66 countries, and
67 WHEREAS, Colombia has been an essential partner to the
68 United States in continuing efforts to support the courageous
69 people of Venezuela in their fight for freedom, democracy, and
70 economic prosperity against the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro,
71 and
72 WHEREAS, enemies of freedom, such as the communist regime
73 in Cuba and the Maduro regime in Venezuela, exploit and abuse
74 vulnerable individuals and perpetrate human rights abuses, such
75 as torture, arbitrary killings, and imprisonment, while also
76 promoting violent unrest, vandalism, and destruction of property
77 against individuals simply asking to be heard, and
78 WHEREAS, in December 2021, the Biden Administration revoked
79 the designation of the FARC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,
80 and
81 WHEREAS, the FARC has murdered, tortured, and kidnapped
82 innocent Colombians and Americans, including kidnap victims and
83 United States citizens Marc D. Gonsalves, Thomas R. Howes, and
84 Keith Stansell, as well as American Thomas Janis, who was
85 murdered, and has committed other crimes and gross violations of
86 human rights, and
87 WHEREAS, the FARC subvert democratic institutions and those
88 who defend them, and
89 WHEREAS, the FARC has committed and supported acts of
90 terrorism and continues to do so, and
91 WHEREAS, the Colombian electorate in 2016 defeated a
92 referendum that would have enacted a deal with the FARC, and
93 WHEREAS, the Colombian government later ratified an
94 agreement with the FARC without the approval of the electorate,
95 NOW,