The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agreed to a renegotiated peace deal Nov. 13, after voters rejected the original deal in October. The new version makes concessions to those who opposed the original deal. For example, under the renegotiated deal, the government will no longer grant blanket amnesty for rebels involved in drug trafficking, and courts will have to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to grant those rebels amnesty.

Special transitional justice courts will be established to hear amnesty cases for a period of 10 years, but they will only accept new cases for the first two years. Foreign judges will be prohibited from serving in the courts. And the courts' decisions will be subject to review by Colombia's Constitutional Court, the country's highest court. The new deal also offers more guarantees to Colombian businesses and to the armed forces and police. The new deal explicitly prohibits the creation of measures to expropriate land and return it to the owners displaced by conflict. Moreover, members of the police and armed forces who are accused of crimes will have access to the transitional justice courts and to all the same benefits as FARC members. The FARC will still be able to participate in Colombian politics, as was originally agreed.

The new deal addresses the concerns of those voters who felt that the original was too lenient. However, the government may not take the chance of it being struck down again by voters. It could instead submit the deal to the Colombian Congress for approval. If Congress approves it, any subsequent administration will have a hard time reversing the decision and will most likely be forced to comply with its implementation. In the meantime, the current Colombian administration will continue enforcing immutable aspects of the agreement, such as demobilizing the FARC, so as to implement as much of the deal as possible before a new administration takes power.