A FARC baby boom follows the Colombian peace deal

Americas Now

During Colombia’s 50-year armed conflict, being a guerilla fighter in the FARC rebel army meant that your mission to the group’s “cause” came first. For female soldiers that included giving up their right to give birth. Pregnancies were prohibited by the FARC.

But as the guerrilla group negotiated a peace agreement with the Colombian government, restrictions on pregnancy were lifted.

Now, with a formal peace deal signed in 2016 and 7,000 FARC members re-integrating into civilian life, the former guerrilla group is witnessing a baby boom.

Correspondent Michelle Begue travels to a demobilization camp in Icononzo. She tells us why the babies of the former FARC rebels are being called “products of peace.”