Colombia: Colombia's Ex-Rebels Turn Tourist Guides, but Peace Remains Fragile

Feb 21, 2019 | Anastasia Moloney, Thomson Reuters Foundation
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As a former rebel fighter, Ximena Cruz used to hide and survive in Colombia’s dense forests, but now in peacetime she hopes tourists will visit the once war-torn hilly hinterland in the country’s central Meta province. Cruz is part of a reintegration project focused on ecotourism, and funded by Norway, that features new hiking trails, rappelling and rafting. About 12,000 FARC members, including 6,000 combatants, demobilized under the accord that ended half a century of war with the government. The FARC is now a far-left political party that uses the same acronym.