Former Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos reflected on the five-year anniversary of Colombia's Peace Accords with the country's oldest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—Ejército del Pueblo, FARC–EP). The discussion was moderated by Alejandro Werner, who will join the Georgetown Americas Institute as founding director in January 2022.
This event was co-sponsored by the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Latin American Policy Association, Center for Latin American Studies, and Georgetown Americas Institute.
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Dr. Alejandro Werner (moderator) will join the Georgetown Americas Institute as founding director in January 2022 and is a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute. He recently completed almost nine years as director of the Western Hemisphere Department at the International Monetary Fund.
Juan Manuel Santos was the president of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. During his presidency, he was one of the initial promoters of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and led the process to convene a special session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2016 to discuss more effective ways to tackle the global drug problem. He was one of the founders and architects of the Pacific Alliance and the sole recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016. In recognition of his work on Colombia’s Peace Accords, he was also awarded the Lamp of Assisi by the Catholic Church and the Tipperary International Peace Award. Before his election as president, Santos served as vice president, minister of foreign trade, minister of finance, and minister of defense of Colombia. In the latter role, he led efforts to rescue a number of high-profile hostages from FARC captivity.
