Here's A Timeline Of Colombia And The FARC's Attempts At Peace

The vote comes as a shock to the country, where approval was expected to win by a wide margin. More than 220,000 people were killed and nearly 7 million were displaced from their homes as the conflict dragged on, and peace negotiation after peace negotiation over the years failed. This year's agreement meant to finally break the cycle.

The movement, founded by nearly 50 farmers fed up with the concentration of power among Colombia’s elite and the systematic dispossession of land across the country, is led by Manuel Marulanda and Jacobo Arenas.

They join a wave of leftist guerrillas that begins sweeping over Latin America during the 1960s and into the 1980s. The goal: a more equitable spread of Colombia's wealth and power to all the people in Colombia.

It doesn't enter the field without competition: It is up against both drug lords trafficking millions of dollars worth of cocaine out of Colombia and groups of right-wing paramilitary groups founded to push back against leftist rebels. These eventually became criminal groups themselves, whose portfolios include high-profile assassinations and extortions. Their ongoing rivalry with the FARC adds another bloody dimension to Colombia’s struggles.

After two decades of fighting, the FARC shows signs that it is attempting to go mainstream. It joins more moderate leftist groups to back a new political party, the Union Patriotica (Patriotic Union), which manages to win several seats in Colombia's congress. The talks eventually collapse under the weight of mutual distrust, however, and the Patriotic Union never gains much in the way of political strength.

Marulanda will continue on as the FARC's commander-in-chief until he dies of a heart attack in 2008.

In response to the failed talks, the FARC embarks on a huge expansion campaign, taking over territory from groups that had demobilized in the wake of Colombia's new constitution being ratified in 1991.

It's the first mass kidnapping that the FARC manages to execute. The incident has two main effects: Colombia sees a marked increase in kidnappings over the next decade, and the Colombian government sets out to eradicate the FARC's primary funding source, its coca fields.

The new group — the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) — also determines civilians to be fair targets in its campaign against the leftists and becomes competition for the FARC in drug trafficking. The group will be linked to several Colombian government officials during its years of existence, despite being labeled a terrorist organization by the US and other countries.

The talks lead to the development of a "demilitarized zone" in El Caguan, a jungle-covered region in south-central Colombia, but eventually begin to fray over a resurgence of the AUC, the Colombian government's refusal to conduct prisoner exchanges, and renewed kidnappings by the FARC.

The plan is met with skepticism by human rights advocates for the use of the military in an anti-drug strategy and the additional support for the armed forces, who had been accused of a multitude of human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings.

Her kidnapping and that of Senator Jorge Gechem Turbay prompt the Pastrana government to declare the end of the demilitarized zone and a cancellation of peace talks. She’ll remain the FARC’s prisoner until 2008, when she and three American hostages are freed in a daring operation where Colombian soldiers masqueraded as NGO workers.

No group ever claims responsibility for the attack, but the government blames the FARC, trying several members in absentia for the bombing. The rebels in turn blame the government itself for planting the bomb to turn public opinion against them.

Some said the marches in Colombia, seas of white that flooded countless streets, were the biggest in the country’s history.

President Juan Manuel Santos, a former defense minister, urges the FARC to end the fighting. "Demobilize or you will end up in prison or in a grave," he warned.

During the talks, the FARC demands that in return for it laying down its arms, the government move forward with not just land development, but also more structured political participation and a fair justice system for its soldiers to be tried.

After the signing, Jimenez declares, "Never again will parents be burying their sons and daughters killed in the war."

Per the accord, FARC members will move to several designated areas and hand over their weapons to the UN over a six-month period. Some will be able to run for office. A truth commission will be set up and special justice tribunals where former guerrilla fighters will be tried; those who tell the truth will be given lenient sentences, in some cases avoiding jail time altogether.

Despite a poll by Ipsos signaling that 72% of the population supported the peace deal, the "no" vote wins by a small margin. The country rejects it by some 60,000 votes with a less-than-40% turnout. FARC negotiators have previously said that they will not move forward with new negotiations, leaving the way forward from here unclear.