Above: Organization of American States Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza (OAS Photo/Juan Manuel Herrera)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Organization of American States says it is welcoming the “new achievement” in peace talks between Colombia’s government and the FARC group in the fight against drug trafficking.

In a statement released last week, Insulza said drug trafficking had been responsible in “great part” for the increase in violence in Colombia and that the commitment to fight against it was an “important step toward peace.”

He said the development “pleases us and makes us hopeful about the possibility of peace being reached very soon in this beloved country.”

Insulza also congratulated Colombia’s President, Juan Manuel Santos, “the leadership in a process that has been difficult and has moved forward without land clearances and without truces, achieving substantive results,” while saying he was pleased by FARC’s decision to temporarily suspend its attacks.

“If it were permanent, it would be great news,” Insulza said. “I hope this step forward in the negotiations, together with previous agreements on land and political participation, is a stimulus for the negotiators to conclude promptly the pending issues and achieve the peace that the Colombians and all the people of the Americas have desired for so long.”