Florida Senate - 2023 CS for SM 160
By the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and
Domestic Security; and Senators Avila and Collins
583-02154-23 2023160c1
1 Senate Memorial
2 A memorial to the United States Department of State,
3 urging the United States Secretary of State to
4 redesignate the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
5 (FARC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization pursuant to
6 section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as
7 amended.
8
9 WHEREAS, Colombia is among the oldest standing democracies
10 in Latin America, and
11 WHEREAS, the United States established diplomatic relations
12 with Colombia in 1822, and
13 WHEREAS, Colombia is a constitutional republic where the
14 people of Colombia hold the power and elect representatives to
15 exercise that power, and
16 WHEREAS, in October 1997, the United States Department of
17 State designated the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
18 (FARC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and
19 WHEREAS, after many years of violence and armed conflict,
20 Colombia is now the United States’ strongest ally in Latin
21 America, and
22 WHEREAS, with the support of the United States through Plan
23 Colombia and the State of Florida, Colombia has transformed from
24 a volatile and near-failed state in 2001 into a stable and
25 prosperous democracy with a growing free market, and
26 WHEREAS, May 15, 2023, will mark the 11-year anniversary of
27 the effective date of the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion
28 Agreement, which has supported economic growth and employment
29 opportunities in Colombia, the United States, and the State of
30 Florida, and
31 WHEREAS, the State of Florida is responsible for roughly 25
32 percent of all trade between the United States and Colombia, and
33 WHEREAS, the United States, the State of Florida, and
34 Colombia have shared a commitment to promoting security,
35 prosperity, human rights, and democracy in Colombia and across
36 the Western Hemisphere, and
37 WHEREAS, in recent years, the Colombian government has
38 taken courageous steps to enforce the law, stop drug
39 traffickers, and rein in foreign terrorist organizations like
40 the National Liberation Army (ELN) and FARC, and
41 WHEREAS, the State of Florida continues to support the
42 Colombian people in their efforts to preserve peace, support
43 human rights defenders, promote greater educational
44 opportunities, increase public and private investments, and
45 respect human rights and the rule of law, and
46 WHEREAS, the United States maintains a strong commitment to
47 cooperating with Colombia to investigate, arrest, and prosecute
48 members of transnational criminal organizations and to dismantle
49 terrorist groups like the ELN, FARC, and Hezbollah, whose
50 illicit activities, specifically narcotrafficking, for many
51 years devastated Colombia and other Western Hemisphere
52 countries, and
53 WHEREAS, Colombia has been an essential partner to the
54 United States in continuing efforts to support the courageous
55 people of Venezuela in their fight for freedom, democracy, and
56 economic prosperity against the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro,
57 and
58 WHEREAS, enemies of freedom, such as the communist regime
59 in Cuba and the Maduro regime in Venezuela, exploit and abuse
60 vulnerable individuals and perpetrate human rights abuses, such
61 as torture, arbitrary killings, and imprisonment, while also
62 promoting violent unrest, vandalism, and destruction of property
63 against individuals simply asking to be heard, and
64 WHEREAS, in December 2021, the Biden Administration revoked
65 the designation of the FARC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,
66 and
67 WHEREAS, the FARC has murdered, tortured, and kidnapped
68 innocent Colombians and Americans, including kidnap victims and
69 United States citizens Marc D. Gonsalves, Thomas R. Howes, and
70 Keith Stansell, as well as American Thomas Janis, who was
71 murdered, and has committed other crimes and gross violations of
72 human rights, and
73 WHEREAS, the FARC subvert democratic institutions and those
74 who defend them, and
75 WHEREAS, the FARC has committed and supported acts of
76 terrorism and continues to do so, and
77 WHEREAS, the Colombian electorate in 2016 defeated a
78 referendum that would have enacted a deal with the FARC, and
79 WHEREAS, the Colombian government later ratified an
80 agreement with the FARC without the approval of the electorate,
81 NOW, THEREFORE,
82
83 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
84
85 That the Florida Legislature declares its firm commitment
86 to Colombia, a longstanding ally of the United States in Latin
87 America, and opposes the Biden Administration’s revocation of
88 the FARC’s designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
89 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Legislature urges
90 the United States Secretary of State to redesignate the FARC as
91 a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
92 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch
93 copies of this memorial to the President of the United States,
94 the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the
95 United States House of Representatives, the United States
96 Secretary of State, and each member of the Florida delegation to
97 the United States Congress.