Today, the representative Maria Elvira Salazar ( R-FL ) and the representative Dan Crenshaw ( R-TX ) presented the Law Non-Foreign Adversaries Residents in Our Communities ( Law No FARC, for its acronym in English ).
Law No FARC denies visas to current and former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ( FARC ).
This bill is a direct response to President Biden's reckless and unilateral decision to remove the FARC from the State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The Biden Administration made the decision without adequately consulting Congress, the Colombian Government, or the Colombian-American community in the United States.
"As a congressman for District 27 of Florida, I represent a large Colombian-American community. Many of them saw their loved ones killed and were forced to flee during the FARC's reign of terror", Representative Salazar said. "The decision of this Administration to remove the FARC from the list is a slap in the face for the Colombian people. The FARC is a violent, undemocratic, Marxist terrorist group whose bloody campaign against the government resulted in more than 220,000 deaths. Since 2019 alone, the FARC have committed more than 300 terrorist attacks in Colombia. We cannot reward these atrocities by allowing terrorists to go on vacation to our communities. If the Biden Administration does not hold them accountable, Congress must act".
“ As someone living in Colombia, I am well aware of the threats posed by the FARC. I am proud to join Representative Salazar in our shared commitment to support the Colombian people and the Colombian Government against Marxist narco-terrorists who want to overthrow the democratically elected government ”, Representative Crenshaw said.“ For more than 55 years, the FARC have been involved in terror against the Colombian people and although the agreement between the Government of Colombia and the FARC is a welcome milestone, I still have big concerns about the threat posed by the FARC and I totally disagree with the Biden Administration's decision to remove the FARC from the list of foreign terrorist organizations, since the remnants of the organization continue to wage war against the Colombian people ”.
List of original co-sponsors:
- Representative Dan Crenshaw ( TX-02 ) *
- Representative Mario Diaz-Balart ( FL-25 )
- Representative Carlos Gimenez ( FL-26 )
- Representative Madison Cawthorn ( NC-11 )
- Representative Greg Steube ( FL-17 )
- Representative Gus Bilirakis ( FL-12 )
- Representative Michael Waltz ( FL-06 )
- Representative Yvette Herrell ( NM-02 )
- Representative Jeff Van Drew ( NJ-02 )
- Representative Ronny Jackson ( TX-13 )
- Representative Rodney Davis ( IL-13 )
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
Original source can be found here.
