Florida Senate - 2022 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SR 1064
Ì625402qÎ625402
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
02/01/2022 .
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The Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and
Domestic Security (Garcia) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the resolving clause
4 and insert:
5 That the Florida Senate declares its firm commitment to
6 Colombia, the United States’ strongest ally in Latin America,
7 and opposes the Biden Administration’s removal of FARC from the
8 list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
9 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Senate condemns any
10 regime in any country, such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran, which
11 gives aid to terrorist groups in Colombia by providing training,
12 weapons, or funding or by hosting those groups within its
13 borders.
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Senate opposes any
15 effort to change the State Department designations of Cuba and
16 Iran from their current designations as State Sponsors of
17 Terrorism.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Senate has heard
19 the concerns of Colombian Americans living in Florida, many of
20 whom have been victims of FARC.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Senate will use all
22 means possible, including divestiture if applicable, to impede
23 ties, commercial or otherwise, with FARC.
24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Senate recognizes
25 that a stable and prosperous Colombia serves the Colombian
26 people first and foremost, but also serves the State of
27 Florida’s interests in Latin America.
28
29 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
30 And the title is amended as follows:
31 Delete everything before the resolving clause
32 and insert:
33 A bill to be entitled
34 A resolution opposing the Biden Administration’s
35 removal of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
36 (FARC) from the United States Department of State’s
37 list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
38
39 WHEREAS, Colombia is among the oldest standing democracies
40 in Latin America, and
41 WHEREAS, the United States established diplomatic relations
42 with Colombia in 1822, and
43 WHEREAS, Colombia is a constitutional republic where the
44 people of Colombia hold the power and elect representatives to
45 exercise that power, and
46 WHEREAS, the United States Department of State placed the
47 Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) on the list of Foreign
48 Terrorist Organizations in 1997, and
49 WHEREAS, after many years of violence and armed conflict,
50 in 2022, Colombia is the United States’ strongest ally in Latin
51 America, and
52 WHEREAS, with the support of the United States and the
53 State of Florida, Colombia has transformed itself from a
54 volatile and near-failed state in 2001 into a rich democracy
55 with a growing free market in 2022, and
56 WHEREAS, May 15, 2022, will mark the 10-year anniversary of
57 the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, which has
58 supported economic growth and employment opportunities in
59 Colombia, the United States, and the State of Florida, and
60 WHEREAS, the State of Florida is responsible for roughly a
61 quarter of all trade between the United States and Colombia, and
62 WHEREAS, the United States, the State of Florida, and
63 Colombia share a commitment to promoting security, prosperity,
64 human rights, and democracy in Colombia and across the Western
65 Hemisphere, and
66 WHEREAS, in recent years, the Colombian government has
67 taken courageous steps to enforce the law, stop drug
68 traffickers, and rein in foreign terrorist organizations like
69 the National Liberation Army (ELN) and FARC, and
70 WHEREAS, the State of Florida continues to support the
71 efforts of the Colombian government for peace, its support for
72 human rights defenders, its provision of greater educational
73 opportunities, its increases in public and private investments,
74 and its respect for human rights and the rule of law, and
75 WHEREAS, the United States maintains a strong commitment to
76 cooperating with the Colombian government to investigate,
77 arrest, and prosecute members of transnational criminal
78 organizations and to dismantle terrorist groups like the ELN,
79 FARC, and Hezbollah, whose illicit activities, specifically
80 narcotrafficking, devastate Colombian and other Latin American
81 societies, and
82 WHEREAS, Colombia is an essential partner with the United
83 States in continuing efforts to support the courageous people of
84 Venezuela in their fight for freedom, democracy, and economic
85 prosperity against the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro, and
86 WHEREAS, enemies of freedom, such as the communist regime
87 in Cuba and the Maduro regime in Venezuela, exploit and abuse
88 vulnerable individuals and promote violent unrest, vandalism,
89 and destruction of property against individuals simply asking to
90 be heard, and
91 WHEREAS, the Biden Administration revoked the designation
92 of FARC as a foreign terrorist organization in November 2021,
93 and
94 WHEREAS, FARC has murdered, tortured, and kidnapped
95 innocent Colombians and committed gross violations of human
96 rights, and
97 WHEREAS, FARC opposes democratic institutions and those who
98 have fought for them, and
99 WHEREAS, FARC has committed and supported terrorism and
100 continues to do so, and
101 WHEREAS, the Colombian electorate in 2016 voted against a
102 referendum that would have enacted a deal with FARC, and
103 WHEREAS, the Colombian government later ratified an
104 agreement with FARC without the approval of the electorate, NOW,
105 THEREFORE,