US to consider removing Colombian rebel group FARC from terror list

The United States is willing to consider removing Colombian Marxist rebels from its list of designated terrorist organizations after the group signed a peace deal with Colombia’s government, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday.

“We clearly are ready to review and make judgments as the facts come in,” Kerry said in Cartagena, Colombia, ahead of the official signing of the landmark peace accord later in the day, according to The Associated Press.

{mosads}”We don’t want to leave people on the list if they don’t belong.”

Any action to remove the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by their Spanish acronym as the FARC, would be a major gesture by the Obama administration following the conclusion of peace talks earlier this year. The agreement reached between FARC leaders and the Colombian government was hailed as a turning point for the country ending more than 50 years of conflict.

The FARC has been on the U.S.’s list of designated foreign terrorist organizations since 1997.

On Monday, the European Union’s top diplomat said that bloc of countries would take the FARC off of its terror list, opening the door for Colombia to receive roughly $600 million in European aid.