As the US and Cuba were announcing the end of more than five decades of animosity, there was another major development in the advance of peace in Latin America.  The Colombian FARC rebels declared an indefinite, unilateral ceasefire.

“We have resolved to declare a unilateral ceasefire and end hostilities for an indefinite period of time, which should be transformed into an armistice,” the Farc said in a statement signed by its ruling Secretariat.  This announcement was made in Havana, which is hosting the peace talks between the FARC and the Colombian government.

They’ve already reached agreements on agrarian reform, political participation for the FARC, and combating drug traffickers in what used to be the world’s largest cocaine producer.  But the government and rebels are still far apart when it comes to decommissioning the FARC’s weapons, and whether commanders will face prosecution for past violence and drug trafficking.

More than 220,000 people have died since the FARC’s insurgency began in the 1960s.