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Rubio: U.S. must respect Colombians' rejection of peace deal

 
Published Oct. 3, 2016

MIAMI — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says the United States must respect the Colombian people's rejection of their government's peace agreement with leftist rebels.

The senator said in a statement that the Colombian people should ultimately decide how the decades-long war with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia comes to a close. He added that such an agreement must "be fair" to those affected by the U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

Rubio, who sits on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, announced his remarks after Colombians rejected the deal in a national referendum Sunday. The final results showed that 50.2 percent of Colombians opposed the deal while 49.8 percent favored it.

Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos says he will keep a cease-fire in place and will continue with his efforts to end the war.