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An Update on the Colombian Peace Process with U.S. Special Envoy Bernard Aronson

October 14, 2015

We spoke with U.S. Special Envoy Bernard Aronson, following the announcement that the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had reached major breakthroughs on the outstanding issues in the peace process negotiations (transitional justice, disarmament, and a timetable for signing a final agreement). He provides context on how agreement was reached and what comes next.

Guest

Bernard Aronson is the U.S. Special Envoy to the Colombian Peace Process. He was appointed to the post by President Obama in response to requests from the Colombian government and the FARC asking that the U.S. take a more direct role in the peace process. Mr. Aronson is the founder and Managing Partner of ACON Investments and also serves on the board of directors for the National Democratic Institute, the board of trustees of the Nature Conservancy, and the board of directors of the Amazon Conservation Team. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomats. He served as Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs under Presidents H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and was awarded the State Department’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal, for his role in resolving conflicts in El Salvador and Nicaragua. 


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The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more