Nobel Prize for peace awarded to Juan Manuel Santos: reactions

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Friday received the Nobel Peace Prize for putting an end to a 50 year conflict with Marxist guerrillas of the Farc.

A lot offered congratulations and others disappointed. Colombia voted to reject the deal in a referendum on Oct. 2, however, Santos was seen as an unlikely choice to win.

The Nobel committee said it hoped the prize would ‘give him strength to succeed in this difficult task.’

Head of FARC, Rodrigo Londoño, who negotiated the peace deal along with Santos, was among many to congratulate Santos.

Felicito al presidente Juan Manuel Santos, a garantes Cuba y Noruega, acompañantes Venezuela y Chile sin los cuales seria imposible la Paz

— Timoleón Jiménez (@Timochenko_FARC) October 7, 2016

Felicitaciones Pres JuanManSantos. Your commitment to bring new era of peace & prosperity to #Colombia is truly inspiring. #NobelPeacePrize pic.twitter.com/EZhvki0TAX

— Jim Yong Kim (JimYongKim) October 7, 2016

Peace always requires partners. Strange choice by Nobel committee to give peace prize to a single individual https://t.co/nU8I783jcM

— Richard N. Haass (@RichardHaass) October 8, 2016

Others expressed their disappointments.

I don’t get this Nobel Peace Prize for Juan Manuel Santos. It’s, like, “well, you tried, A for effort!

— Felix Salmon (@felixsalmon) October 7, 2016

Quiet disappointment at #WhiteHelmets HQ. They're a brilliant, inspiring group, saving lives on daily basis. #Nobel pic.twitter.com/LsktcbMg0Y

— Mark Lowen (@marklowen) October 7, 2016

Congrats for the Syrian SyriaCivilDef heroes for winning our hearts and losing a stone prize. You are our #NobelPeacePrize heroes

— Mahmoud Al Basha (mahmoud_basha8) October 7, 2016