Colombia's largest rebel group -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) -- is considered to be a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, as authorities claim the organization uses the nation's multi-billion dollar cocaine industry to fund its operations. First created in 1964 with anti-US and Marxist ideology, Latin America's oldest insurgency is now making headlines for their new rap video which is calling for peace.
The viral video, titled "Colombians, everybody to the peace talks," began making rounds on social media on Tuesday. The star of the video is Dutch-born guerrilla Tanja Nijmeijer and featured a cameo of Miguel Pascuas, one FARC's founding members. Wearing a rebel cap and a camouflaged tank, Nijmeijer raps that Colombia's peasants are "the reason for [her] life."
The creative team behind the video, which was produced by negotiators in Havana for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia along with Cuban rappers Cuentas Claras, used images of abuse by President Álvaro Uribe's U.S.-backed security campaign to send their message. According to FARC's statement, which was released with the video: to reach peace, we must learn to speak without fear, without taboos."
The history of peace talks between the Colombian government and the rebel group is a convoluted one: Since the 1960s, peace talks took place sporadically in the 1980s with a cease-fire negotiated in 1984, which included the release of several imprisoned guerrilla fighters. The truce came to an end after thousands of former FARC members were killed in 1990. Peace talks were attempted again in 2002, but were called off by then-President Andrés Pastrana after a series of high profile rebel attacks. Most recently, in 2012, the rebels and the Colombian government resumed peace talks but ultimately reached a standstill.
The timing of the video's release is significant, as Colombians are headed to the polls later this month to elect their leader. Current President Juan Manuel Santos has been campaigning with the promise to make peace with FARC, while his opponent, Óscar Iván Zuluaga, has been criticising the current government's soft stand on the rebels.
Watch FARC's rap video below:
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