After pushing a revised peace deal with the FARC rebels through Congress, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos got down to a far bigger challenge Thursday: implementing it.
The lower house’s unanimous vote in favor of the deal set off a countdown to end a conflict that has burned for over half a century and killed more than 260,000 people.
“Today we can say the war has officially ended,” Santos said in a speech.
“We all have to continue making sacrifices, but I hope we will do so together.”
Interior Minister Juan Fernando Cristo told a news conference that Colombia now faces “an enormous challenge” to implement the accord.