Colombian Government Suspends ELN Ceasefire
The ELN—Colombia’s largest active guerilla group—later replied with a statement issued on Tuesday claiming that they did not agree to such a ceasefire and clarified they would only analyze a ceasefire proposal during the ongoing negotiations.
Six Challenges Facing Colombia in 2023
[2022] was not an easy year for anyone. Unfortunately, we cannot say that 2023 will be any easier. Here are the top risks that Colombia will face in 2023.
Colombia and Venezuela Restore Diplomatic Ties After Three-Year Break
On Sunday, Venezuela’s Deputy Foreign Minister Rander Peña Ramírez welcomed the new Ambassador of Colombia to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, in Caracas, signaling the resumption of bilateral diplomatic ties after a three-year break.
Sink or Swim: Total Peace Under Petro
What Petro can achieve in furthering peace will determine whether the enthusiasm that propelled him to victory will quickly turn into disillusionment and whether Colombia’s peace process will sink or swim.
A resurgence of violence in Colombia
Last Friday, the helicopter of President of Colombia Iván Duque was struck by multiple bullets as it approached the airport of the city of Cúcuta, capital of the Norte de Santander region, located on the Venezuelan border. No passengers were injured by the small-arms fire, although Duque’s government released photographs showing the helicopter’s exterior lacerated by bullet holes. The attack occurred in the context of escalating levels of violence in Colombia—as the landmark 2016 peace deal signed with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) lurches unsteadily toward its fifth anniversary—and record-low approval ratings for President Duque.
The currency of enmity: Why Colombians can’t find common ground on Uribe
The reactions to former President Álvaro Uribe’s arrest hints toward deep divisions within the country, the body politic, and within families across Colombia.
Political violence, state incapacity and post-peace agreement Colombia
The rise of violence in Colombia highlights the complexity of implementing a peace agreement and how the absence of war does not necessarily guarantee peace.
Turmoil in the Western Hemisphere
Taking advantage of the demonstrations that flared across Latin America at the end of 2019, outside actors worked to push legitimate social protest to violent extremes as a part of a deliberate destabilization strategy.
Drug trafficking and Colombian ‘peace’
Since the disarming of the FARC two-and-a-half years ago, the actors, figures and methods have changed. But the conclusion is clear: drug trafficking in Colombia is more alive than ever before.
Colombia’s seeming never-ending violence
The ELN may just have destroyed the possibility of peace in the long-troubled country, not just with the ELN but under the peace agreement with the FARC.