BOGOTA, Colombia—Colombians cried and hugged as the leaders of their government and the country’s biggest rebel group signed a cease-fire and disarmament deal moving their country to the verge of a final peace accord to end decades of fighting.
As the agreement was signed in Havana, hundreds of people watched the ceremony live on a giant screen set up in Colombia’s capital, Bogota, many singing the national anthem and waving the Colombian flag.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londono, commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, shook hands and described the moment as historic after their lead negotiators signed a deal setting out how 7,000 rebel fighters will hand over their weapons once a peace accord ends a 52-year war that has killed more than 220,000 people.
Santos has said he thinks the accord could come as early as next month, although negotiators have missed a series of other government-announced deadlines.
“Colombia got used to living in conflict. We don’t have even the slightest memories of what it means to live in peace,” Santos said. “Today a new chapter opens, one that brings back peace and gives our children the possibility of not reliving history.”
