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1/9/23, 13:26 Colombia International Travel Information
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Colombia
Republic of Colombia

Reissued with updates to high-risk areas.
Reconsider travel due to crime and terrorism. Exercise increased caution
due to civil unrest and kidnapping. Some areas have increased risk. Read
the entire Travel Advisory.
Do Not Travel to:
Arauca, Cauca (excluding Popayán), and Norte de Santander
departments due to crime and terrorism.
The Colombia-Venezuela border region due to crime, kidnapping,
and risk of detention when crossing into Venezuela from
Colombia.
Country Summary: Violent crime, such as homicide, assault, and armed
robbery, is widespread. Organized criminal activities, such as extortion,
robbery, and kidnapping, are common in some areas.
The National Liberation Army (ELN), Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia - People’s Army (FARC-EP), and Segunda Marquetalia terrorist
organizations, as well as the Clan del Golfo and other criminal
organizations, continue operating and carrying out attacks in Colombia.
They may attack with little or no warning, targeting transportation hubs,
markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, police stations,
military facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, airports, and other public
areas. While terrorists have not specifically targeted private U.S. citizens,
the attacks could result in unintended victims.
Demonstrations occur regularly throughout the country. Large public
demonstrations can take place for a variety of political or economic
issues. Demonstrations can shutdown roads and highways, often without
prior notice or estimated reopening timelines. Road closures may
significantly reduce access to public transportation and may disrupt
travel within and between cities. Protests can become violent and can
result in fatalities and injuries.
U.S. government employees must adhere to the noted restrictions:
U.S. government employees are not permitted to travel by road
between most major cities.
Colombia’s land border areas are off-limits to U.S. government
personnel unless specifically authorized.
U.S. government employees may not use motorcycles.
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Embassy
Messages
Demonstration Alert Bogota: U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia – August
g p y y y
U.S. government employees may not hail street taxis or use public
buses.
Read the country information page for additional information on travel to
Colombia.
If you decide to travel to Colombia:
Avoid protest areas and crowds.
Monitor local media for breaking events and adjust your plans
based on new information.
Keep a low profile.
Be aware of your surroundings.
Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive
Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.
Review the Country Security Report for Colombia.
Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review
the Traveler’s Checklist.
Arauca, Cauca, and Norte de Santander Departments – Level 4: Do Not
Travel
Violent crime, including armed robbery and homicide, is widespread.
Terrorist groups are active in some parts.
The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to
U.S. citizens as U.S. government-personnel travel to these areas is
severely restricted due to security concerns.
Colombia - Venezuela Border – Level 4: Do Not Travel
U.S. citizens are advised not to travel to the border of Colombia and
Venezuela. U.S. citizens are at risk of detention when crossing into
Venezuela. The Colombia-Venezuela border is not clearly marked, and
U.S. citizens should not go near the border due to the risk of crossing
into Venezuela accidentally. U.S. citizens attempting to enter Venezuela
without a visa have been charged with terrorism and other serious crimes
and detained for long periods. For more information, see the Venezuela
Travel Advisory.
Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas.
Alerts
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e o st at o e t ogota: U.S. bassy ogota, Co o b a ugust
28, 2023 Mon, 28 Aug 2023
Demonstration Alert: U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia August 15,
2023 Tue, 15 Aug 2023
Security Alert – Presence of Terrorist and Transnational Criminal
Organizations in Colombia Sat, 12 Aug 2023
Demonstration Alert: U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia August 9,
2023 Wed, 09 Aug 2023
View Alerts and Messages Archive
Quick Facts
PASSPORT VALIDITY:
Must be valid at the time of
entry and for the duration of
stay.
BLANK PASSPORT PAGES:
One page required for entry
stamp unless enrolled in
Migración Automática, a
program for frequent
travelers.
TOURIST VISA REQUIRED:
Not required for stays 90 days
or less.
VACCINATIONS:
Yellow fever vaccination is
required for travelers coming
from certain countries or
visiting certain national parks.
CURRENCY RESTRICTIONS
FOR ENTRY:
10,000 USD maximum.
CURRENCY RESTRICTIONS
FOR EXIT:
10,000 USD maximum.
ALL /
Embassies and Consulates 
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Destination Description 
Entry, Exit and Visa Requirements 
Safety and Security 
Terrorism: Terrorist groups and those inspired by such organizations are
intent on attacking U.S. citizens abroad. Terrorists are increasingly using
less sophisticated methods of attack – including knives, firearms, and
vehicles – to more effectively target crowds. Frequently, their aim is
focused on unprotected or vulnerable targets, such as:
High-profile public events (sporting events, political rallies,
demonstrations, holiday events, celebratory gatherings, etc.)
Hotels, clubs, and restaurants frequented by tourists
Places of worship
Schools
Parks
Shopping malls and markets
Public transportation systems (including subways, buses, trains, and
scheduled commercial flights)
In Colombia, the National Liberation Army (ELN), the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia - People’s Army (FARC-EP), and Segunda Marquetalia
terrorist organizations continue plotting and executing attacks.
For more information, see our Terrorism page.
Crime: Crimes and scams against tourists, and those perceived to be
wealthy, are common and well-coordinated in urban areas, including in
affluent neighborhoods. Firearms and knives are prevalent in Colombia and
often used in muggings and robberies under the threat of violence. Drive-by
motorcyclist snatchings of cell phones, bags, and valuables are extremely
common. Victims are often identified well in advance of the robbery based
on visible jewelry, high value wristwatches, and general attire while in
public places such as shopping malls, restaurants, and airports.
Narco-trafficking groups, including the Clan del Golfo frequently engage in
violence against civilians and security forces.
ATMs: There have been instances of fraudulent charges or withdrawals
from accounts due to “skimmed” cards. If you choose to use credit or debit
cards you should regularly check your account to ensure there are no
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cards, you should regularly check your account to ensure there are no
unauthorized transactions. Travelers should limit the amount of cash they
carry in public, exercise caution when withdrawing cash from ATMs, and
avoid ATMs located on the street. ATMs inside shopping malls or other
protected locations are preferable.
Taxis: U.S. government employees are prohibited from hailing taxis on the
street due to the risk of assault or robbery. U.S. citizens have been killed
during robberies while using taxis. Use a dispatch service or cell phone
app whenever possible.
Disabling Drugs: The Embassy receives regular reports of criminals using
drugs to temporarily incapacitate unsuspecting victims and then rob or
assault them. Scopolamine, a fast-acting incapacitating drug, is often
surreptitiously applied to food, drinks, and hand sanitizer vials by criminals
to rob or assault their victims. Victims of scopolamine-related crimes are
often targeted in bars, night clubs, or through dating apps. Avoid leaving
food or drinks unattended at a bar or restaurant, and refuse offers of
something to eat or drink from a stranger.
Ayahuasca/Hallucinogens: Traditional hallucinogens, often referred to as
ayahuasca, can be marketed to tourists as “spiritual cleansing,” and
typically contain dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a strong psychedelic that is
illegal in the United States and many other countries. Risks to hallucinogen
users while intoxicated include robbery, assault, illness, or death. People
claiming to be shamans or spiritual practitioners are neither licensed nor
regulated.
Demonstrations: Protests and demonstrations occur frequently,
particularly in Bogota. They may take place in response to political or
economic issues, on politically significant holidays, and during
international events.
Demonstrations can be unpredictable; avoid areas around protests
and demonstrations.
Check local media for updates and traffic advisories.
International Financial Scams: See the Department of State and the FBI
pages for information.
Internet romance and financial scams are prevalent in Colombia. Scams
are often initiated through Internet postings/profiles or by unsolicited
emails and letters. Scammers almost always pose as U.S. citizens who
have no one else to turn to for help. Common scams include:
Romance/Online dating
Money transfers
Lucrative sales
Gold purchase
Contracts with promises of large commissions
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Grandparent/Relative targeting
Free Trip/Luggage
Lotteries
Inheritance notices
Work permits/job offers
Bank overpayments
Posing as U.S. government officials soliciting payment for services.
Victims of Crime: U.S. citizen victims of sexual assault are encouraged to
contact the U.S. Embassy for assistance. Report crimes to the local police
by dialing 123 and contact the U.S. Embassy at +57 (601) 275-2000 or +57
(601) 275-4021 after hours. Remember that local authorities are
responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes.
See our webpage on help for U.S. victims of crime overseas.
We can:
Help you find appropriate medical care.
Assist you in reporting a crime to the police.
Contact relatives or friends with your written consent.
Provide general information regarding the victim’s role during the
local investigation and following its conclusion.
Provide a list of local attorneys.
Provide our information on victim’s compensation programs in the
United States.
Provide an emergency loan for repatriation to the United States
and/or limited medical support in cases of destitution.
Help you find accommodation and arrange flights home.
Replace a stolen or lost passport.
Domestic Violence: U.S. citizen victims of domestic violence are
encouraged to contact the Embassy for assistance. Help in domestic
violence situations is available, in Spanish, by calling 155 (*155 from a cell
phone).
Tourism: The tourism industry is unevenly regulated, and safety
inspections for equipment and facilities are uncommon. Hazardous
areas/activities are not always identified with appropriate signage, and
staff may not be trained or certified by the government or by recognized
authorities. In the event of an injury, adequate medical treatment may only
be available in or near major cities. First responders may only be able to
provide basic medical treatment and may be unable to access areas
outside of major cities. U.S. citizens are encouraged to purchase medical
evacuation insurance (see information on insurance providers for overseas
coverage.)
Venezuelan Border: The U.S. Department of State has categorized
Venezuela as Level 4: Do Not Travel due to crime, civil unrest, poor health
i f t t kid i d th t d d t ti f U S iti
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infrastructure, kidnapping, and the arrest and detention of U.S. citizens
without due process or fair trial guarantees. U.S. citizens are at risk of
detention when crossing into Venezuela from Colombia. The Colombia-
Venezuela border is not clearly marked, and U.S. citizens should not go
near the border due to the risk of crossing into Venezuela accidentally and
being detained for illegal entry. If you still choose to travel to Venezuela, do
not attempt to enter Venezuela without a visa. Visas are not available upon
arrival. U.S. citizens attempting to enter Venezuela without a visa have
been charged with terrorism and other serious crimes and detained for
long periods. The Maduro regime does not notify the U.S. government of
the detention of U.S. citizens and the U.S. government is not granted
access to those citizens. The U.S. government has extremely limited ability
to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Venezuela.
Local Laws & Special Circumstances 
Health 
Travel and Transportation 
Fact Sheet
Please see Fact Sheet for this country/area.
For additional travel information
Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive
security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
Call us in Washington, D.C. at 1-888-407-4747 (toll-free in the United
States and Canada) or 1-202-501-4444 (from all other countries)
from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through
Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
See the State Department’s travel website for the Worldwide
Caution and Travel Advisories.
Follow us on Twitter
and Facebook
.
See traveling safely abroad for useful travel tips.
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International Parental Child Abduction
Review information about International Parental Child Abduction in
Colombia. For additional IPCA-related information, please see
the International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act
(ICAPRA) report.
Last Updated: August 17, 2023
1/9/23, 13:31 World Report 2020: Colombia | Human Rights Watch
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/colombia 1/13
The 52-year armed conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and
the government officially ended with a peace accord in 2016. Despite an initial overall decline,
conflict-related violence has taken new forms and serious abuses continue.
In 2019, civilians in affected parts of the country suffered serious abuses at the hands of
National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, FARC dissidents, and paramilitary successor
groups. Human rights defenders, journalists, indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders, and
other community activists have faced death threats and violence. The government has taken
insufficient steps to protect them. Violence associated with the conflicts has forcibly displaced
more than 8.1 million Colombians since 1985.
In 2017, the Colombian government initiated formal peace talks with the ELN. But in January
2019, shortly after the ELN exploded a car bomb at a police academy in Bogotá, the
government of President Iván Duque ended the peace talks.
Impunity for past abuses, barriers to land restitution for displaced people, limits on
AVAILABLE IN
Colombia
Colombia
Events of 2019
Events of 2019
Members of the Ernesto Che Guevara front, belonging to the National
Members of the Ernesto Che Guevara front, belonging to the National
Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, patrol a river in the Choco
Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, patrol a river in the Choco
department of Colombia, on May 23, 2019.
department of Colombia, on May 23, 2019.
© 2019 RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images
© 2019 RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images
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LANGUAGES
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reproductive rights, and extreme poverty and isolation faced by indigenous communities
remain important human rights concerns in Colombia.
Guerrillas and FARC Dissidents
In June 2017, the United Nations political mission in Colombia verified that FARC guerrillas
who accepted the peace agreement with the government had handed over their weapons to the
mission. The demobilized guerrilla group later announced it was forming a political party, the
Revolutionary Alternative Force of the Common People.
But a minority of dissident guerrilla fighters rejected the terms of the peace agreement, refused
to disarm, and continue to commit abuses. Other FARC fighters disarmed initially but then
joined or created new groups, partly in reaction to inadequate reintegration programs. As of
May, the military estimated that FARC dissident groups had more than 2,300 members.
In the eastern province of Arauca, on the border with Venezuela, a FARC dissident group has
committed serious abuses against civilians including those who defy the group’s “rules.”
Abuses include murder, sexual violence, child recruitment, kidnappings, and forced labor. In
some cases, fighters from this group have taken victims across the border to Venezuela.
In September, Karina García Sierra, who was running to be mayor of Suárez, Cauca, was
attacked and killed. Authorities blamed a FARC dissident group.
The ELN continued in 2019 to commit war crimes and other serious abuses against civilians,
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including killings, forced displacement, and child recruitment. Its fighting with the Popular
Army of Liberation (EPL)—a hold-out from a rival guerrilla group that demobilized in the
1990s—forced over 3,500 people to leave their houses in Catatumbo, a region in the northeast,
between January and the end of July 2019.
In the Chocó province, on the country’s west coast, fighting between the ELN and the
Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC)—a group that emerged from the
paramilitaries. Fears of landmines, threats by armed groups, and getting caught in the crossfire
have limited the ability of nearly 2,800 people in Chocó to leave their communities, a situation
known as “confinement.” In already poor communities, confinement often undermines access
to food.
In January, a car bomb detonated at a police academy in Bogotá, killing 22 cadets and injuring
over 60 others. Days later, the ELN claimed responsibility, saying they had acted “within the
laws of war.”
Paramilitaries and Successors
Between 2003 and 2006, right-wing paramilitary organizations with close ties to security forces
and politicians underwent a deeply flawed government demobilization process in which many
members remained active and reorganized into new groups. These successor groups continue
to commit violations of the laws of war and serious human rights abuses, including killings,
disappearances, and rape.
Fighting between the AGC and a FARC dissident group caused 2,200 people to flee their homes
in the Córdoba province, in northern Colombia, between March and April 2019.
Implementation of the Justice and Peace Law of 2005, which offers reduced sentences to
demobilized paramilitary members who confess their crimes, has been slow. Of more than
30,000 paramilitary troops who demobilized, 4,000 have sought to exchange a confession for a
lighter sentence. As of March 2018, 215 had been sentenced.
Santiago Uribe, brother of former President Alvaro Uribe, was on trial, at time of writing, on
charges of murder and conspiracy for his alleged role in the paramilitary group “The 12
Apostles” in the 1990s.
The Supreme Court summoned former President Uribe to appear in court in October to
answer allegations that he tampered with witnesses who implicated him in paramilitary
atrocities in the 1990s.
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Violations by Public Security Forces
From 2002 through 2008, army brigades across Colombia routinely executed civilians in what
are known as “false positive” killings. Under pressure from superiors to show “positive” results
and boost body counts in their war against guerrillas, soldiers and officers abducted victims or
lured them to remote locations under false pretenses—such as promises of work—shot them
dead, placed weapons on their bodies, and reported them as enemy combatants killed in action.
The number of allegations of unlawful killings by security forces has fallen sharply since 2009,
though credible reports of some new cases continue to emerge.
As of September 2019, the Attorney General’s Office had opened over 2,000 investigations on
alleged unlawful killings by army personnel from 2002 through 2008, and had achieved over
900 convictions in cases against more than 1,600 mid- and low-level soldiers, including
convictions against the same individual in various cases. As of February 2019, 55 members of
the Armed Forces had testified about their roles in false positives before the Special
Jurisdiction for Peace, a transitional justice mechanism created by the peace agreement with
the FARC.
Authorities have largely failed, however, to prosecute senior army officers involved in the
killings and instead have promoted many of them through the military ranks. As of September
2019, cases against 29 army generals under investigation for false-positive killings had seen
scant progress.
In December 2018, President Duque named Gen. Nicacio de Jesús Martínez Espinel as head of
the army, despite credible evidence linking him to false positives.
The army apologized for the April 29 killing by one of its soldiers of Dimar Torres, a former
FARC fighter, in Catatumbo, in northeast Colombia. A sergeant was charged with the murder,
while a colonel was accused of cover up.
In 2019, the New York Times, Semana magazine, and Human Rights Watch published documents
showing that in 2019 the army reinstated military policies resembling those that led to the
“false positives.” The bulk of the new policies remained in force at time of writing.
In November, Defense Minister Guillermo Botero resigned as he was facing an impeachment
process in Congress.
Violence Against Community Activists
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Indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and other community activists continue to be targeted with
threats and attacks. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
documented the killings of 41 human rights defenders between January and late July 2019.
In March, a group of young men broke into the home of Argemiro López, a community activist
who promoted the substitution of coca for food crops in La Guayacana, in the southwestern
municipality of Tumaco. They shot and killed López and injured his wife.
Most such killings have occurred in areas where illegal economic activities, such as drug
production and trafficking, are common. These include Cauca and Nariño provinces in the
south; Catatumbo, in the northeast, on the border with Venezuela; and the Bajo Cauca and
southern Córdoba regions in the northwest.
In August, the Attorney General’s Office said it had issued arrest warrants against at least one
alleged perpetrator in 58 percent of the cases reported by the OHCHR since January 2016 in
which human rights defenders have been murdered. The office said it had obtained convictions
against 62 perpetrators. Authorities have made much less progress in prosecuting people who
ordered murders against community leaders.
The National Protection Unit—a national body charged with protecting people at risk— has
granted individual protection measures to hundreds of human rights defenders, providing
cellphones, bulletproof vests, and bodyguards. Such measures are provided in response to
threats, but many community leaders killed had not reported threats or requested protection.
In April 2018, the government signed a decree creating collective protection programs for
communities and rights groups at risk. It had not been implemented at time of writing.
An action plan introduced in November 2018 to protect community leaders has not led to any
evident results.
Peace Negotiations and Accountability
The peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC provided for the
creation of a “Special Jurisdiction for Peace” to try those responsible for gross human rights
violations and violations of international humanitarian law committed during the conflict.
FARC guerrillas and members of the armed forces responsible for crimes against humanity and
serious war crimes who fully cooperate with the new jurisdiction and confess their crimes are
subject to as many as eight years of “effective restrictions on freedoms and rights,” but no
prison time.
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At time of writing, Special Jurisdiction magistrates had prioritized seven situations for analysis:
kidnappings committed by the FARC; false-positive killings; army and FARC abuses against
Afro-Colombian and indigenous people in three municipalities in Nariño province, in the
south; FARC and army abuses committed in the Urabá region, in the north; FARC and army
abuses committed in the northern part of Cauca province; government abuses against
members of the Patriotic Union, a political party created by the FARC in the 1980s; and
recruitment and use of children by the FARC.
During 2019, the Special Jurisdiction opened investigations to determine whether four former
FARC commanders had failed to fulfill their responsibilities under the peace accord, including
reincorporating former guerrilla fighters into society and testifying before the Special
Jurisdiction. In April, the Special Jurisdiction issued a warrant for arrest of one of them, alias
“El Paisa,” ruling his failure to testify before the Special Jurisdiction was unjustified.
The whereabouts of all four, including the group’s top peace negotiator, alias “Iván Márquez”
and alias “Jesús Santrich,” who the US is seeking to have extradited to the US on drug charges,
remained unknown at time of writing. In August, these four former FARC commanders, along
with about 20 other former mid-level FARC commanders, announced that they were taking up
arms again in response to what they called a “betrayal by the state of the peace accord.”
In March, the Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional a 2018 law containing a provision
that suspended, unless defendants requested otherwise, Special Jurisdiction prosecutions of
armed forces soldiers until the government created a “special and differentiated process” for
them.
Internal Displacement and Land Restitution
Conflict-related violence has displaced more than 8.1 million Colombians, out of a population
of 49 million, since 1985, government figures reveal. Around 33,000 people were displaced
between January and the end of July 2019.
The government’s implementation of land restitution under the 2011 Victims’ Law continues to
move slowly. The law was enacted to restore millions of hectares of land that were left behind
by or stolen from internally displaced Colombians during the conflict. As of July, the courts had
issued rulings in only 10,400 of more than 116,000 claims filed.
In August, a Democratic Center senator introduced a bill that would limit land restitution in
cases where the land was stolen and since sold.
Migration from Venezuela
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Colombia has received by far the largest number of Venezuelan exiles fleeing the human rights
and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. More than 1.4 million people moved from Venezuela to
Colombia between March 2017 and August 2019.
In July 2017, the Colombian government created a special permit that allows Venezuelan
citizens who enter the country legally but overstay their visas to regularize their status and
obtain work permits and access to basic public services. As of July, nearly 600,000 Venezuelans
had obtained the permit. Many still remain with irregular status. In August, the Colombian
government passed a regulation allowing more than 24,000 Venezuelan children born to
undocumented Venezuelan immigrants to claim Colombian nationality.
Women’s and Girls’ Rights
Gender-based violence, including by armed groups, is widespread in Colombia. Lack of training
and poor implementation of treatment protocols impede timely access to medical services and
create obstacles for women and girls seeking post-violence care and justice. Perpetrators of
violent, gender-based crimes are rarely held accountable.
In the southwestern municipality of Tumaco, where sexual violence, including by armed
groups, is pervasive, women face an array of obstacles in ensuring protection and
accountability.
Abortion in Colombia is legal only when the life or health of the woman or girl is at risk, the
pregnancy is the result of rape, or the fetus suffers conditions incompatible with life outside
the womb.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
In recent years, authorities have taken several steps to recognize the rights of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. In 2015, the Justice Ministry issued a decree allowing
people to revise the gender noted on their identification documents without prior judicial
approval. Also that year, the Constitutional Court ruled that Colombians cannot be barred
from adopting a child because of their sexual orientation. In 2016, the court upheld the right of
same-sex couples to marry.
Indigenous Rights
Indigenous people in Colombia suffer disproportionate levels of poverty that greatly impede
their ability to exercise their social and economic rights. From January through mid-August
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2019, at least 21 children under age five—the majority of them belonging to Wayuu indigenous
communities—died in the province of La Guajira of causes associated with malnutrition and
limited access to drinking safe water. In August 2019, Colombia’s inspector general said that
the government had not taken coordinated action to address the crisis.
Key International Actors
The United States remains the most influential foreign actor in Colombia. The US House of
Representatives approved at least US$457 million for Colombia in June; the bill was pending in
the Senate at time of writing. A portion of US military aid is subject to human rights
conditions, but the US Department of State has not seriously enforced them.
In April, US senators Patrick Leahy, Chris Van Hollen, and Benjamin L. Cardin sent a letter to
President Duque expressing their concern with the appointment of officers to senior positions
in the army, despite credible information that they were linked to “false positives.”
The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court continues to monitor
Colombian investigations of crimes that may fall within the court’s jurisdiction.
In 2016, at the request of the government of then-President Juan Manuel Santos, the UN
Security Council established a political mission in Colombia to monitor and verify
implementation of the FARC peace accord. In July 2019, President Duque asked the Security
Council to extend the mandate of the UN mission for another year.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) continues to play a key
role in defending and promoting human rights in Colombia. In October, the government and
high commissioner renegotiated the agreement establishing an OHCHR office in Colombia and
extended its mandate for three more years.
The Colombian government continues to support regional efforts to address the human rights
crisis in Venezuela, including by leading efforts of the Lima Group, a coalition of governments
in the region that is monitoring Venezuela’s crisis.
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1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International
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COLOMBIA
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Amnesty International takes no position on issues of sovereignty or territorial disputes. Borders on
this map are based on UN Geospatial data.
Back to Colombia
COLOMBIA 2022
Human rights defenders continued to face attacks, threats and harassment because of
their work; defenders of the land, territory and environment were particularly at risk.
Killings and threats targeting former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – Army of
the People (FARC-EP) combatants persisted. Attacks on media workers and outlets
continued, threatening freedom of expression. Excessive and unnecessary use of force
by state officials was reported. Indigenous leaders and defenders were attacked and
killed and, in areas where armed opposition groups continued to operate, Indigenous
and Afro-descendant communities were forcibly displaced and some faced
humanitarian crises. A final report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
acknowledged that violations of reproductive rights had been committed during the
decades-long armed conflict (1964-2016). Several former army members, civilians and
former FARC-EP commanders were charged with crimes against humanity and war
crimes committed during the conflict before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).
Abortion was decriminalized. Attacks on LGBTI people continued. Gender-based
violence persisted and survivors faced ongoing barriers to accessing justice, truth and
1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 2/10
reparation. Venezuelan refugee women faced violence and discrimination on grounds of
nationality and gender.
Background
Parliamentary elections were held on 13 March. Some seats in parliament were
reserved for former FARC-EP combatants and for victims of the armed conflict, as
stipulated in the 2016 Peace Agreement.
In June, the Colombian Truth Commission released its final report, highlighting the
need to address historic inequalities, discrimination, racism, gender-based violence,
violence against Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants and to guarantee the rights
to truth, justice and reparation of victims of the armed conflict.
Gustavo Petro, former mayor of Bogotá and former M-19 guerrilla fighter, won the
presidential election and began his four-year term in August. He was accompanied by
Francia Márquez, environmental defender and the country’s first Black woman vice
president.
In August, authorities recognized the competence of the UN Committee on Enforced
Disappearances to receive and examine individual complaints regarding victims of
enforced disappearance. In September, Colombia also ratified the Inter-American
Convention on the Protection of Human Rights of Older Persons. In October, Congress
approved the Escazú Agreement.
President Petro restored diplomatic relations with Venezuela and in September some
border operations between the two countries were re-established.
In October, President Petro reinstalled and reinitiated meetings of the National
Commission for Security Guarantees, established by the Peace Agreement to create a
public policy for dismantling armed groups.
In October, the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN)
recommenced peace talks and proposed a “multilateral ceasefire”. The government
also explored negotiations with other armed actors in the context of a “total peace“
policy.
1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 3/10
Colombia is one of the South American countries with the highest recurrence of
extreme weather events. Approximately 84% of its population is exposed to multiple
environmental hazards. According to the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and
Environmental Studies of Colombia (IDEAM), coastal and insular areas are most
sensitive to climate change, as well as high mountain ecosystems.
Rights to truth, justice and reparation
In January, the Constitutional Court declared an unconstitutional state of affairs due to
the constant and massive violations of fundamental rights to life, physical integrity and
security of former FARC-EP combatants. The Institute of Studies for Development and
Peace (INDEPAZ), a civil society organization, reported 42 killings of former
combatants during the year. The UN Security Council stressed its concern regarding
the persistent threats, attacks and killings targeting former FARC-EP combatants who
had signed the Peace Agreement.
According to the Kroc Institute, compliance with the 2016 Peace Agreement between
FARC-EP and the Colombian state remained slow, particularly regarding the
implementation of ethnic and gender-based approaches. The Institute reported that
37% of the Agreement’s provisions had been minimally implemented and 15%
uninitiated.
From January to December, the Unit for the Search for Persons Deemed as Missing
(UBPD) recovered 185 bodies of people reported missing in the context of the armed
conflict, in regions such as Antioquia, Santander and Sucre. In June, the UBPD also
reported it had handed the remains of 167 victims back to their families and loved
ones since its creation in 2017.
Freedom of expression
In May, the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) expressed alarm at the arbitrary
detention of journalists Luis Ángel and Luna Mendoza, who were covering the high-
profile murder of Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci near the city of Cartagena.
In May, media outlets in Antioquia and Córdoba departments received death threats in
the context of an armed strike declared by the paramilitary group the Gaitanista Self-
1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 4/10
Defence Forces of Colombia (AGC – also known as the Gulf Clan).
In July, the Colombian Council of State declared the state responsible for psychological
torture, threats, persecution, exile and illegal interception in the case of journalist
Claudia Julieta Duque and her family between 2001 and 2010.
In August, journalists Leiner Montero and Dilia Contreras were killed in Magdalena
department. According to FLIP, the killings were related to their journalistic work.
In September, FLIP reported threats against Telemundo journalists covering the Darien
Gap migration route.
As of September, FLIP had reported 595 violations of freedom of expression against
journalists, including two cases of sexual violence. In the first five months of the year,
FLIP reported a 59% increase in threats against media workers covering the electoral
process compared with 2018.
Excessive and unnecessary use of force
In May, Indigenous leader Luis Tombé was shot dead in the context of an
environmental protest in the town of Miranda, Cauca department, when members of
the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) opened fire on protesters calling for the release of
fellow demonstrators held by police.
In June, civil society platform Campaña Defender la Libertad criticized ESMAD’s
excessive use of force against protesters, which resulted in one person sustaining eye
trauma at Distrital University in Bogotá. Protesters were calling for more resources and
improved infrastructure for the university.
Arbitrary detention
According to Campaña Defender la Libertad, arbitrary detentions by state security
forces increased between March and June, in the context of the upcoming elections.
Indigenous peoples’ rights
1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 5/10
Killings and threats targeting Indigenous leaders and defenders continued.
In January, the Totoroez Indigenous people reported the killing of Albeiro Camayo, a
member of the Indigenous Guard, by FARC-EP dissidents in Cauca department.
In February, the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) reported the
killing of Julio César Bravo, a human rights defender and leader of the Pastos people in
Nariño department.
ELN combatants in Chocó department killed Luis Chamapuro, a member of the
Wounan people, in February.
Also in February, Dilson Arbey Borja, an Indigenous leader, human rights defender and
member of the Indigenous Guard, was killed in the city of Turbo, Antioquia
department.
The OHCHR condemned the killing of Miller Correa in March, in the context of
constant threats against his community and its leaders. Miller Correa was a human
rights defender and member of the Nasa people in Cauca department.
In September, two Wayuu Indigenous infants died of malnutrition in the northern
region of La Guajira, taking the death toll among young children there to 39 since
January. On 6 September, the Ombudsperson’s Office issued a public warning asking
the government to take action to address the humanitarian situation in the region.
In June, at least 100 Indigenous people from Alto Andagueda reserve in Chocó were
forcibly displaced following clashes between state security forces and illegal armed
groups.
Indigenous organizations in Chocó highlighted the risk of displacement faced by
Emberá Indigenous families due to the presence of illegal armed groups in Chocó in
the Jurubida Chori Alto Baudó reserve.
In September, Awá peoples highlighted the continuing humanitarian crisis and violence
affecting them because of the presence of illegal armed actors on Indigenous reserves
in Nariño and Putumayo departments.
1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 6/10
Gender-based violence
In July, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) announced the opening of Case 11,
relating to sexual violence, grave violations of reproductive rights and violence
motivated by the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of the victims in the context
of the armed conflict.
The Feminicides Observatory reported that there were 557 feminicides in 2022.
Victims of gender-based violence, including sexual violence, by state officials in the
context of the 2021 national strike faced continuing obstacles in accessing justice and
reparation.
Sexual and reproductive rights
A ruling by the Constitutional Court in February decriminalized abortion up to the 24th
week of pregnancy. The historic decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by the
Causa Justa movement.
The Truth Commission’s final report recognized that grave violations of reproductive
rights, including forced abortions, forced sterilizations and forced contraception, had
occurred in the context of the armed conflict. The report recommended that the state
avoid restarting aerial fumigation programmes to eradicate illicit crops using the
herbicide glyphosate as it has negative effects on people’s reproductive health.
LGBTI people’s rights
According to the NGO Caribe Afirmativo, between January and July, 15 gay men were
killed and LGBTI people faced heightened risks in the city of Medellín.
The JEP opened an investigation (Case 7) into sexual crimes and discrimination against
forcibly recruited LGBTI children and adolescents during the armed conflict.
The Constitutional Court recognized a non-binary gender marker for ID registration,
establishing legal precedent for gender diversity.
1
1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 7/10
In March, lesbian rights defender Paola Andrea Jaraba Martínez faced violence and
threats, allegedly related to her sexual orientation and work in Córdoba department.
According to the NGO Trans Action and Support Group (GAAT), between January and
August, 16 trans women were killed in Colombia.
Human rights defenders
Human rights defenders continued to face attacks, threats and harassment because of
their work. Defenders of the land, territory and environment were particularly at risk.
In February, several human rights defenders in the Magdalena Medio region were
targeted in a pamphlet circulated by an armed group calling itself the United Self-
defence Forces of Colombia. The pamphlet referred to human rights defenders as
military targets and gave them and their families 48 hours to leave the area or face the
consequences. Targeted defenders included Carolina Agón Ramón Abril. Ten days later,
Yuvelis Natalia Morales, a 21-year-old environmental defender, was forced to flee
Colombia after her home was broken into.
In May, unidentified people shot at four environmental defenders belonging to the
Federation of Santander Fishers for Tourism and Environment (FEDESPAN), an
environmental organization which operates in the city of Barrancabermeja, and
assesses possible environmental damage in the Magdalena Medio region.
In July, Yuli Velásquez, president of FEDEPESAN, was the victim of an armed attack in
which her bodyguard was injured.
In August, the minister of the interior installed the first Unified Command Point for Life
in Caldono municipality, Cauca department. The aim of this space, and similar spaces
that followed in other regions, was to listen to the demands and concerns of
communities and protect the lives of social leaders, human rights defenders and others
at risk.
According to the NGO Programa Somos Defensores, between January and September
there were 621 attacks targeting human rights defenders.
2
1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 8/10
INDEPAZ recorded the killings of 189 social leaders and human rights defenders in
2022.
Forced displacement
OCHA reported that from January to July, there were 220 humanitarian emergencies
relating to confinement (meaning people were forced to stay in their territories because
of the armed conflict and had limited access to food, drinking water and basic services)
and forced displacement, affecting at least 249,106 people, mainly in the pacific
region and near the Venezuela-Colombia border.
In January, clashes broke out between FARC-EP dissidents and the ELN in Arauca,
forcibly displacing 3,860 people.
In May, 7,989 people were prevented by non-state armed groups from leaving their
homes or moving freely in the zones of Nóvita and San José del Palmar in Chocó.
Violations of international humanitarian law
Between January and June, the ICRC recorded 377 victims of explosive hazards,
including anti-personnel mines and explosive remnants of war, in 16 departments.
Cauca, Antioquia, Arauca, Norte de Santander and Meta were the most affected
departments.
According to the human rights NGO Attorneys Collective José Alvear Restrepo (CAJAR),
on 28 March, 11 people were extrajudicially executed during a military incursion in the
Puerto Leguízamo municipality, Putumayo department.
The National Ombudsperson issued an alert over the presence of the paramilitary group
Border Command in Caquetá region and the grave risk to the lives and physical
integrity of civil society leaders and former FARC-EP combatants.
On 5 May, the AGC imposed a four-day curfew across 10 departments in northern
Colombia, following the announcement of the decision to extradite its commander
“Otoniel” to the USA. During this so-called armed strike, at least 127 acts of violence
1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 9/10
were reported in 73 municipalities, including four killings, five death threats, 36 cases
of restriction of movement and one case of torture and another of kidnapping.
In May, Afro-descendant communities reported armed clashes in Istmina, Sipí, Nóvita,
Medio San Juan and Litoral del San Juan in Chocó department, resulting in collective
forced displacements and the confinement of several Black communities. In June,
unidentified armed actors killed Jesusita Moreno and Rómulo Angulo López, members
of Malaguita Afro-descendant collective territory, in Bajo San Juan, Chocó department.
As of 1 December, INDEPAZ reported that 91 massacres (that is, killings of three or
more people at the same time and place and by the same alleged perpetrator) had
resulted in the deaths of 289 people.
Impunity
On 18 February, the JEP announced the opening of new cases on the responsibility of
FARC-EP combatants for sexual violence, forced displacement and enforced
disappearances and other crimes committed by state security forces and officials in
coordination with paramilitary groups; and crimes against ethnic communities and
territories.
By the end of the year, the JEP had charged 79 former army members (including
officials), four civilians and one former intelligence agent with crimes against humanity
and war crimes in relation to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in
Norte de Santander, the Caribbean Coast, Casanare and Antioquia departments. The
JEP also charged eight former high-ranking FARC-EP commanders with crimes against
humanity and war crimes in the context of a policy of kidnapping and hostage-taking,
among other crimes.
In September, former FARC-EP combatants accepted responsibility for homicides,
forced displacement, forced recruitment and other crimes against civilians in Northern
Cauca.
Refugees’ and migrants’ rights
1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 10/10
In June, UNICEF declared that the number of children crossing the Darién Gap
between Colombia and Panama had reached more than 5,000 since the beginning of
2022, twice the number recorded for the same period in 2021.
Authorities stated that 2,477,000 Venezuelans were living in Colombia in July, 96% of
whom had applied for Temporary Protection Status.
Gender-based violence against Venezuelan refugee women persisted and Colombian
authorities failed to guarantee Venezuelan women’s rights to a life free from violence
and discrimination.
1. Colombia: The Police Does Not Care for Me: Sexual Violence and Other Gender-
Based Violence in the 2021 National Strike, 1 December
2. “Colombia: Protect environmental defender at risk”, 15 July
3. Americas: Unprotected: Gender-based Violence against Venezuelan Refugee Women
in Colombia and Peru,12 July
3
1/9/23, 13:56 State Capacity in Colombia: Unintended Consequences of Peace
https://www.visionofhumanity.org/state-capacity-unintended-consequences-peace/ 1/4
CONFLICT
State Capacity in Colombia: Unintended
Consequences of Peace
A Colombian case study: territorial control is facilitated because of the
difficulty of civilians to mobilise with a collective purpose.
Search SUBSCRIBE
1/9/23, 13:56 State Capacity in Colombia: Unintended Consequences of Peace
https://www.visionofhumanity.org/state-capacity-unintended-consequences-peace/ 2/4
A Colombian case study on state capacity: territorial control is
facilitated because of the difficulty of civilians to mobilise with a
collective purpose.
State Capacity and the Unintended Consequences of Peace
A vast academic literature in economics and political science agrees that state capacity
is an important determinant of economic development. In turn, this literature also
recognises that a key element of state formation is the consolidation of the monopoly of
violence within a given territory.
Importantly, however, this function is not limited to a central institutionalised
authority.
In the context of internal conflict, non-state actors can also establish social order within
specific peripheral territories. They can also regulate most public and private affairs
and enforce rules in what constitutes a de facto pseudo-state.
In this context, situations that end up in the withdrawal of the ruling
actor generate a vacuum of power that other armed groups often rush
in to fill.
In turn, consolidating territorial dominance often entails the use of selective violence as
a strategy to ensure the compliance of the local populations.
We researched the systematic killing of local social leaders that has taken place in
Colombia in the last few years in a recent paper. The paper was co-authored with
Mounu Prem and Andrés Rivera from Universidad del Rosario, and with Darío Romero
from Columbia University,
From January 2009 to June 2017 over 500 social leaders were killed in Colombia, and
this pattern seems to have experienced an important increase at the beginning of 2015
(see Figure 1).
1/9/23, 13:56 State Capacity in Colombia: Unintended Consequences of Peace
https://www.visionofhumanity.org/state-capacity-unintended-consequences-peace/ 3/4
We found that the permanent ceasefire of 2014 by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) encouraged killings of local leaders by other illegal armed groups.
These other armed groups were seeking to occupy the areas previously controlled by
FARC.
Peace negotiations in 2014
The ceasefire was declared on December 20, 2014 and resulted from the peace
negotiations that FARC held with the Government of Colombia since October 2012.
The final peace agreement, signed at the end of 2016, is probably the most important
political achievement of a country that faced over five decades of internal armed
conflict.
However, the unprecedented surge in assassination of leaders casted shadows over the
euphoria from the peace negotiations.
Did killings increase after FARC’s ceasefire?
Using a triple differences strategy, we show that the killing of social leaders increased
disproportionally after the start of FARC’s permanent cease fire in places previously
dominated by this insurgency and located in the proximity of areas with presence of
other armed groups.
Figure 2 summarises both the methodology and the main results from our
analysis.
When the permanent ceasefire is announced (vertical line), the number of social
leaders killed remains almost constant in municipalities with FARC presence prior to
the cease-fire, but not exposed to the influence of other armed groups.
In contrast, the killing of leaders increases dramatically in areas both controlled by
FARC and exposed to the influence of other armed groups.
Key Findings
Results are consistent with the idea that territorial control is facilitated because
civilians had difficulty mobilising with a collective purpose.
Because the incapacity of FARC insurgency to oppose violently, the permanent
ceasefire facilitated the arrival of other illegal armed actors to territories
traditionally dominated by this insurgency.
By killing local social leaders, these other armed groups reduce the collective action
from communities, and increase their ability to exercise control locally.
Consistent with this interpretation, we found that killing leaders isn’t explained by a
differential trend of the homicide rate.
1/9/23, 13:56 State Capacity in Colombia: Unintended Consequences of Peace
https://www.visionofhumanity.org/state-capacity-unintended-consequences-peace/ 4/4
Thus, it is not explained by either a strategy of indiscriminate killings of civilians or a
differential change of reporting rates in previously FARC-controlled areas after the
ceasefire.
Killings in areas with weak state capacity
In addition, we show that weaker state capacity and an inefficient local judiciary
exacerbates the killing of leaders.
Our findings highlight the unintended consequences of the lack of state capacity:
Central governments in the context of civil war often have to exercise the
monopoly of violence
The institutional presence in peripheral regions is traditionally dominated by
illegal armed groups
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1/9/23, 14:06 Colombia's Total Peace Strategy Sees Mixed Results One Year On
https://insightcrime.org/news/colombias-total-peace-one-year-on-less-state-violence-stronger-criminal-groups/ 1/3
Home ᐳ News ᐳ Colombia's Total Peace 1-Year-On: Less State Violence, Stronger Criminal Groups
NEWS
Colombia's Total Peace 1-Year-
On: Less State Violence,
Stronger Criminal Groups
COLOMBIA / 24 AUG 2023 BY YAGO ROSADO EN
One year into Colombian President Gustavo Petro's “Total Peace” project, a
report describes how violence against the state has decreased while the
country’s criminal groups have grown in strength.
The report by Fundación Ideas Para la Paz, published August 22, explains that
Colombia's main criminal groups have expanded their territorial control,
enhanced their power of recruitment, and diversified their income. All of this
has increased the number of clashes between them and generated a worrying
humanitarian climate, found the report.
Below, InSight Crime analyzes three findings from the report to assess the
evolution of Colombia’s criminal landscape one year after Petro's Total Peace
announcement.
Violence Against the State Falls While
Inter-Group Disputes Increase
During its first year, the Petro government has overseen a significant reduction
in confrontations between state security forces and armed groups such as the
National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional - ELN), the ex-FARC
mafia, and the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas
Gaitanistas de Colombia - AGC).
Between July 2022 and August 2023, there were fewer than 100 clashes, while
in 2021 there were more than 170. According to the report, these groups no
longer confront the state "because they have no pretensions or capacity to
affect its stability or the seizure of power at the national level.”
But not everything is positive. The report's data show that disputes between
the country's main armed groups have increased as they look to maintain and
expand their territorial control. Clashes between armed groups have grown by
85% during Petro's first year in office, making it the highest figure in the last
decade.
During this period, the ex-FARC mafia, ELN, and AGC have reinforced their
ranks. Their combined total membership is now 7,620, according to the report.
They are also supported by a network of at least 7,512 people, exceeding the
figures reported in previous years, which averaged 6,000.
Armed Groups Continue Killing
Although homicides have decreased by 1.5% in comparison to the last year
under former president, Iván Duque (2018-2022), violence has continued
unabated in the departments where armed groups have a strong presence.
The island of San Andrés and the departments of Sucre and Vaupes, where the
AGC and the ex-FARC mafia have operations, have seen homicides increase by
72%, 59%, and 50% respectively. Bolivar and Putumayo also saw increases of
between 10% and 20%.
At the national level, kidnapping have risen by 77% and extortion by almost
15%. In both cases, these are the highest figures in the last decade and contrast
starkly against the goals of Total Peace, which has so far failed to establish
ceasefire agreements with ex-FARC mafia factions or the AGC. In fact, the
government broke off talks with the latter group earlier this year.
The report’s data also shows the populations in rural areas are suffering higher
rates of threats, extortion, and forced displacement.
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COLOMBIA
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1/9/23, 14:06 Colombia's Total Peace Strategy Sees Mixed Results One Year On
https://insightcrime.org/news/colombias-total-peace-one-year-on-less-state-violence-stronger-criminal-groups/ 2/3
Peace Talks Not Impeding Criminal
Armed Groups
Talks to demobilize the multiple criminal groups active in Colombia are
stalling.
The report indicates that, after initial momentum in 2022 when many armed
groups announced their intentions to talk with the Petro administration,
negotiations are progressing intermittently and slowly.
Though not straightforward, negotiations with the ELN are the most advanced.
The bilateral ceasefire between the ELN and the Colombian state, and the
involvement of the National Participation Committee (Comité de Participación
Nacional - CNP), have provided a solid foundation for future progress.
No other negotiations with armed groups have gotten this far. In fact, the
negotiation processes with groups such as the AGC, the Pachenca, and a
myriad of urban groups, are stalled due to the lack of a clear legal framework
in which the two groups can discuss and plan.
Meanwhile, in the case of the ex-FARC mafia, talks are taking place while the
group disputes different territories, such as the Colombian Pacific, where they
are fighting over drug trafficking routes to international markets.
COLOMBIA ELN EX-FARC MAFIA GAITANISTAS HOMICIDES SECURITY POLICY
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Conditions Country.pdf

  • 1. 1/9/23, 13:26 Colombia International Travel Information https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Colombia.html 1/8 Colombia Republic of Colombia  Reissued with updates to high-risk areas. Reconsider travel due to crime and terrorism. Exercise increased caution due to civil unrest and kidnapping. Some areas have increased risk. Read the entire Travel Advisory. Do Not Travel to: Arauca, Cauca (excluding Popayán), and Norte de Santander departments due to crime and terrorism. The Colombia-Venezuela border region due to crime, kidnapping, and risk of detention when crossing into Venezuela from Colombia. Country Summary: Violent crime, such as homicide, assault, and armed robbery, is widespread. Organized criminal activities, such as extortion, robbery, and kidnapping, are common in some areas. The National Liberation Army (ELN), Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People’s Army (FARC-EP), and Segunda Marquetalia terrorist organizations, as well as the Clan del Golfo and other criminal organizations, continue operating and carrying out attacks in Colombia. They may attack with little or no warning, targeting transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, police stations, military facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, airports, and other public areas. While terrorists have not specifically targeted private U.S. citizens, the attacks could result in unintended victims. Demonstrations occur regularly throughout the country. Large public demonstrations can take place for a variety of political or economic issues. Demonstrations can shutdown roads and highways, often without prior notice or estimated reopening timelines. Road closures may significantly reduce access to public transportation and may disrupt travel within and between cities. Protests can become violent and can result in fatalities and injuries. U.S. government employees must adhere to the noted restrictions: U.S. government employees are not permitted to travel by road between most major cities. Colombia’s land border areas are off-limits to U.S. government personnel unless specifically authorized. U.S. government employees may not use motorcycles.
  • 2. 1/9/23, 13:26 Colombia International Travel Information https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Colombia.html 2/8 Embassy Messages Demonstration Alert Bogota: U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia – August g p y y y U.S. government employees may not hail street taxis or use public buses. Read the country information page for additional information on travel to Colombia. If you decide to travel to Colombia: Avoid protest areas and crowds. Monitor local media for breaking events and adjust your plans based on new information. Keep a low profile. Be aware of your surroundings. Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency. Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter. Review the Country Security Report for Colombia. Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the Traveler’s Checklist. Arauca, Cauca, and Norte de Santander Departments – Level 4: Do Not Travel Violent crime, including armed robbery and homicide, is widespread. Terrorist groups are active in some parts. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens as U.S. government-personnel travel to these areas is severely restricted due to security concerns. Colombia - Venezuela Border – Level 4: Do Not Travel U.S. citizens are advised not to travel to the border of Colombia and Venezuela. U.S. citizens are at risk of detention when crossing into Venezuela. The Colombia-Venezuela border is not clearly marked, and U.S. citizens should not go near the border due to the risk of crossing into Venezuela accidentally. U.S. citizens attempting to enter Venezuela without a visa have been charged with terrorism and other serious crimes and detained for long periods. For more information, see the Venezuela Travel Advisory. Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas. Alerts
  • 3. 1/9/23, 13:26 Colombia International Travel Information https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Colombia.html 3/8 e o st at o e t ogota: U.S. bassy ogota, Co o b a ugust 28, 2023 Mon, 28 Aug 2023 Demonstration Alert: U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia August 15, 2023 Tue, 15 Aug 2023 Security Alert – Presence of Terrorist and Transnational Criminal Organizations in Colombia Sat, 12 Aug 2023 Demonstration Alert: U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia August 9, 2023 Wed, 09 Aug 2023 View Alerts and Messages Archive Quick Facts PASSPORT VALIDITY: Must be valid at the time of entry and for the duration of stay. BLANK PASSPORT PAGES: One page required for entry stamp unless enrolled in Migración Automática, a program for frequent travelers. TOURIST VISA REQUIRED: Not required for stays 90 days or less. VACCINATIONS: Yellow fever vaccination is required for travelers coming from certain countries or visiting certain national parks. CURRENCY RESTRICTIONS FOR ENTRY: 10,000 USD maximum. CURRENCY RESTRICTIONS FOR EXIT: 10,000 USD maximum. ALL / Embassies and Consulates 
  • 4. 1/9/23, 13:26 Colombia International Travel Information https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Colombia.html 4/8 Destination Description  Entry, Exit and Visa Requirements  Safety and Security  Terrorism: Terrorist groups and those inspired by such organizations are intent on attacking U.S. citizens abroad. Terrorists are increasingly using less sophisticated methods of attack – including knives, firearms, and vehicles – to more effectively target crowds. Frequently, their aim is focused on unprotected or vulnerable targets, such as: High-profile public events (sporting events, political rallies, demonstrations, holiday events, celebratory gatherings, etc.) Hotels, clubs, and restaurants frequented by tourists Places of worship Schools Parks Shopping malls and markets Public transportation systems (including subways, buses, trains, and scheduled commercial flights) In Colombia, the National Liberation Army (ELN), the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People’s Army (FARC-EP), and Segunda Marquetalia terrorist organizations continue plotting and executing attacks. For more information, see our Terrorism page. Crime: Crimes and scams against tourists, and those perceived to be wealthy, are common and well-coordinated in urban areas, including in affluent neighborhoods. Firearms and knives are prevalent in Colombia and often used in muggings and robberies under the threat of violence. Drive-by motorcyclist snatchings of cell phones, bags, and valuables are extremely common. Victims are often identified well in advance of the robbery based on visible jewelry, high value wristwatches, and general attire while in public places such as shopping malls, restaurants, and airports. Narco-trafficking groups, including the Clan del Golfo frequently engage in violence against civilians and security forces. ATMs: There have been instances of fraudulent charges or withdrawals from accounts due to “skimmed” cards. If you choose to use credit or debit cards you should regularly check your account to ensure there are no
  • 5. 1/9/23, 13:26 Colombia International Travel Information https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Colombia.html 5/8 cards, you should regularly check your account to ensure there are no unauthorized transactions. Travelers should limit the amount of cash they carry in public, exercise caution when withdrawing cash from ATMs, and avoid ATMs located on the street. ATMs inside shopping malls or other protected locations are preferable. Taxis: U.S. government employees are prohibited from hailing taxis on the street due to the risk of assault or robbery. U.S. citizens have been killed during robberies while using taxis. Use a dispatch service or cell phone app whenever possible. Disabling Drugs: The Embassy receives regular reports of criminals using drugs to temporarily incapacitate unsuspecting victims and then rob or assault them. Scopolamine, a fast-acting incapacitating drug, is often surreptitiously applied to food, drinks, and hand sanitizer vials by criminals to rob or assault their victims. Victims of scopolamine-related crimes are often targeted in bars, night clubs, or through dating apps. Avoid leaving food or drinks unattended at a bar or restaurant, and refuse offers of something to eat or drink from a stranger. Ayahuasca/Hallucinogens: Traditional hallucinogens, often referred to as ayahuasca, can be marketed to tourists as “spiritual cleansing,” and typically contain dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a strong psychedelic that is illegal in the United States and many other countries. Risks to hallucinogen users while intoxicated include robbery, assault, illness, or death. People claiming to be shamans or spiritual practitioners are neither licensed nor regulated. Demonstrations: Protests and demonstrations occur frequently, particularly in Bogota. They may take place in response to political or economic issues, on politically significant holidays, and during international events. Demonstrations can be unpredictable; avoid areas around protests and demonstrations. Check local media for updates and traffic advisories. International Financial Scams: See the Department of State and the FBI pages for information. Internet romance and financial scams are prevalent in Colombia. Scams are often initiated through Internet postings/profiles or by unsolicited emails and letters. Scammers almost always pose as U.S. citizens who have no one else to turn to for help. Common scams include: Romance/Online dating Money transfers Lucrative sales Gold purchase Contracts with promises of large commissions
  • 6. 1/9/23, 13:26 Colombia International Travel Information https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Colombia.html 6/8 Grandparent/Relative targeting Free Trip/Luggage Lotteries Inheritance notices Work permits/job offers Bank overpayments Posing as U.S. government officials soliciting payment for services. Victims of Crime: U.S. citizen victims of sexual assault are encouraged to contact the U.S. Embassy for assistance. Report crimes to the local police by dialing 123 and contact the U.S. Embassy at +57 (601) 275-2000 or +57 (601) 275-4021 after hours. Remember that local authorities are responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes. See our webpage on help for U.S. victims of crime overseas. We can: Help you find appropriate medical care. Assist you in reporting a crime to the police. Contact relatives or friends with your written consent. Provide general information regarding the victim’s role during the local investigation and following its conclusion. Provide a list of local attorneys. Provide our information on victim’s compensation programs in the United States. Provide an emergency loan for repatriation to the United States and/or limited medical support in cases of destitution. Help you find accommodation and arrange flights home. Replace a stolen or lost passport. Domestic Violence: U.S. citizen victims of domestic violence are encouraged to contact the Embassy for assistance. Help in domestic violence situations is available, in Spanish, by calling 155 (*155 from a cell phone). Tourism: The tourism industry is unevenly regulated, and safety inspections for equipment and facilities are uncommon. Hazardous areas/activities are not always identified with appropriate signage, and staff may not be trained or certified by the government or by recognized authorities. In the event of an injury, adequate medical treatment may only be available in or near major cities. First responders may only be able to provide basic medical treatment and may be unable to access areas outside of major cities. U.S. citizens are encouraged to purchase medical evacuation insurance (see information on insurance providers for overseas coverage.) Venezuelan Border: The U.S. Department of State has categorized Venezuela as Level 4: Do Not Travel due to crime, civil unrest, poor health i f t t kid i d th t d d t ti f U S iti
  • 7. 1/9/23, 13:26 Colombia International Travel Information https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Colombia.html 7/8 infrastructure, kidnapping, and the arrest and detention of U.S. citizens without due process or fair trial guarantees. U.S. citizens are at risk of detention when crossing into Venezuela from Colombia. The Colombia- Venezuela border is not clearly marked, and U.S. citizens should not go near the border due to the risk of crossing into Venezuela accidentally and being detained for illegal entry. If you still choose to travel to Venezuela, do not attempt to enter Venezuela without a visa. Visas are not available upon arrival. U.S. citizens attempting to enter Venezuela without a visa have been charged with terrorism and other serious crimes and detained for long periods. The Maduro regime does not notify the U.S. government of the detention of U.S. citizens and the U.S. government is not granted access to those citizens. The U.S. government has extremely limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Venezuela. Local Laws & Special Circumstances  Health  Travel and Transportation  Fact Sheet Please see Fact Sheet for this country/area. For additional travel information Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency. Call us in Washington, D.C. at 1-888-407-4747 (toll-free in the United States and Canada) or 1-202-501-4444 (from all other countries) from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). See the State Department’s travel website for the Worldwide Caution and Travel Advisories. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook . See traveling safely abroad for useful travel tips.
  • 8. 1/9/23, 13:26 Colombia International Travel Information https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Colombia.html 8/8 International Parental Child Abduction Review information about International Parental Child Abduction in Colombia. For additional IPCA-related information, please see the International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act (ICAPRA) report. Last Updated: August 17, 2023
  • 9. 1/9/23, 13:31 World Report 2020: Colombia | Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/colombia 1/13 The 52-year armed conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government officially ended with a peace accord in 2016. Despite an initial overall decline, conflict-related violence has taken new forms and serious abuses continue. In 2019, civilians in affected parts of the country suffered serious abuses at the hands of National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, FARC dissidents, and paramilitary successor groups. Human rights defenders, journalists, indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders, and other community activists have faced death threats and violence. The government has taken insufficient steps to protect them. Violence associated with the conflicts has forcibly displaced more than 8.1 million Colombians since 1985. In 2017, the Colombian government initiated formal peace talks with the ELN. But in January 2019, shortly after the ELN exploded a car bomb at a police academy in Bogotá, the government of President Iván Duque ended the peace talks. Impunity for past abuses, barriers to land restitution for displaced people, limits on AVAILABLE IN Colombia Colombia Events of 2019 Events of 2019 Members of the Ernesto Che Guevara front, belonging to the National Members of the Ernesto Che Guevara front, belonging to the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, patrol a river in the Choco Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, patrol a river in the Choco department of Colombia, on May 23, 2019. department of Colombia, on May 23, 2019. © 2019 RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images © 2019 RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images DONATE NOW LANGUAGES
  • 10. 1/9/23, 13:31 World Report 2020: Colombia | Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/colombia 2/13 reproductive rights, and extreme poverty and isolation faced by indigenous communities remain important human rights concerns in Colombia. Guerrillas and FARC Dissidents In June 2017, the United Nations political mission in Colombia verified that FARC guerrillas who accepted the peace agreement with the government had handed over their weapons to the mission. The demobilized guerrilla group later announced it was forming a political party, the Revolutionary Alternative Force of the Common People. But a minority of dissident guerrilla fighters rejected the terms of the peace agreement, refused to disarm, and continue to commit abuses. Other FARC fighters disarmed initially but then joined or created new groups, partly in reaction to inadequate reintegration programs. As of May, the military estimated that FARC dissident groups had more than 2,300 members. In the eastern province of Arauca, on the border with Venezuela, a FARC dissident group has committed serious abuses against civilians including those who defy the group’s “rules.” Abuses include murder, sexual violence, child recruitment, kidnappings, and forced labor. In some cases, fighters from this group have taken victims across the border to Venezuela. In September, Karina García Sierra, who was running to be mayor of Suárez, Cauca, was attacked and killed. Authorities blamed a FARC dissident group. The ELN continued in 2019 to commit war crimes and other serious abuses against civilians, DONATE NOW
  • 11. 1/9/23, 13:31 World Report 2020: Colombia | Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/colombia 3/13 including killings, forced displacement, and child recruitment. Its fighting with the Popular Army of Liberation (EPL)—a hold-out from a rival guerrilla group that demobilized in the 1990s—forced over 3,500 people to leave their houses in Catatumbo, a region in the northeast, between January and the end of July 2019. In the Chocó province, on the country’s west coast, fighting between the ELN and the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC)—a group that emerged from the paramilitaries. Fears of landmines, threats by armed groups, and getting caught in the crossfire have limited the ability of nearly 2,800 people in Chocó to leave their communities, a situation known as “confinement.” In already poor communities, confinement often undermines access to food. In January, a car bomb detonated at a police academy in Bogotá, killing 22 cadets and injuring over 60 others. Days later, the ELN claimed responsibility, saying they had acted “within the laws of war.” Paramilitaries and Successors Between 2003 and 2006, right-wing paramilitary organizations with close ties to security forces and politicians underwent a deeply flawed government demobilization process in which many members remained active and reorganized into new groups. These successor groups continue to commit violations of the laws of war and serious human rights abuses, including killings, disappearances, and rape. Fighting between the AGC and a FARC dissident group caused 2,200 people to flee their homes in the Córdoba province, in northern Colombia, between March and April 2019. Implementation of the Justice and Peace Law of 2005, which offers reduced sentences to demobilized paramilitary members who confess their crimes, has been slow. Of more than 30,000 paramilitary troops who demobilized, 4,000 have sought to exchange a confession for a lighter sentence. As of March 2018, 215 had been sentenced. Santiago Uribe, brother of former President Alvaro Uribe, was on trial, at time of writing, on charges of murder and conspiracy for his alleged role in the paramilitary group “The 12 Apostles” in the 1990s. The Supreme Court summoned former President Uribe to appear in court in October to answer allegations that he tampered with witnesses who implicated him in paramilitary atrocities in the 1990s. DONATE NOW
  • 12. 1/9/23, 13:31 World Report 2020: Colombia | Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/colombia 4/13 Violations by Public Security Forces From 2002 through 2008, army brigades across Colombia routinely executed civilians in what are known as “false positive” killings. Under pressure from superiors to show “positive” results and boost body counts in their war against guerrillas, soldiers and officers abducted victims or lured them to remote locations under false pretenses—such as promises of work—shot them dead, placed weapons on their bodies, and reported them as enemy combatants killed in action. The number of allegations of unlawful killings by security forces has fallen sharply since 2009, though credible reports of some new cases continue to emerge. As of September 2019, the Attorney General’s Office had opened over 2,000 investigations on alleged unlawful killings by army personnel from 2002 through 2008, and had achieved over 900 convictions in cases against more than 1,600 mid- and low-level soldiers, including convictions against the same individual in various cases. As of February 2019, 55 members of the Armed Forces had testified about their roles in false positives before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, a transitional justice mechanism created by the peace agreement with the FARC. Authorities have largely failed, however, to prosecute senior army officers involved in the killings and instead have promoted many of them through the military ranks. As of September 2019, cases against 29 army generals under investigation for false-positive killings had seen scant progress. In December 2018, President Duque named Gen. Nicacio de Jesús Martínez Espinel as head of the army, despite credible evidence linking him to false positives. The army apologized for the April 29 killing by one of its soldiers of Dimar Torres, a former FARC fighter, in Catatumbo, in northeast Colombia. A sergeant was charged with the murder, while a colonel was accused of cover up. In 2019, the New York Times, Semana magazine, and Human Rights Watch published documents showing that in 2019 the army reinstated military policies resembling those that led to the “false positives.” The bulk of the new policies remained in force at time of writing. In November, Defense Minister Guillermo Botero resigned as he was facing an impeachment process in Congress. Violence Against Community Activists DONATE NOW
  • 13. 1/9/23, 13:31 World Report 2020: Colombia | Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/colombia 5/13 Indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and other community activists continue to be targeted with threats and attacks. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented the killings of 41 human rights defenders between January and late July 2019. In March, a group of young men broke into the home of Argemiro López, a community activist who promoted the substitution of coca for food crops in La Guayacana, in the southwestern municipality of Tumaco. They shot and killed López and injured his wife. Most such killings have occurred in areas where illegal economic activities, such as drug production and trafficking, are common. These include Cauca and Nariño provinces in the south; Catatumbo, in the northeast, on the border with Venezuela; and the Bajo Cauca and southern Córdoba regions in the northwest. In August, the Attorney General’s Office said it had issued arrest warrants against at least one alleged perpetrator in 58 percent of the cases reported by the OHCHR since January 2016 in which human rights defenders have been murdered. The office said it had obtained convictions against 62 perpetrators. Authorities have made much less progress in prosecuting people who ordered murders against community leaders. The National Protection Unit—a national body charged with protecting people at risk— has granted individual protection measures to hundreds of human rights defenders, providing cellphones, bulletproof vests, and bodyguards. Such measures are provided in response to threats, but many community leaders killed had not reported threats or requested protection. In April 2018, the government signed a decree creating collective protection programs for communities and rights groups at risk. It had not been implemented at time of writing. An action plan introduced in November 2018 to protect community leaders has not led to any evident results. Peace Negotiations and Accountability The peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC provided for the creation of a “Special Jurisdiction for Peace” to try those responsible for gross human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law committed during the conflict. FARC guerrillas and members of the armed forces responsible for crimes against humanity and serious war crimes who fully cooperate with the new jurisdiction and confess their crimes are subject to as many as eight years of “effective restrictions on freedoms and rights,” but no prison time. DONATE NOW
  • 14. 1/9/23, 13:31 World Report 2020: Colombia | Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/colombia 6/13 At time of writing, Special Jurisdiction magistrates had prioritized seven situations for analysis: kidnappings committed by the FARC; false-positive killings; army and FARC abuses against Afro-Colombian and indigenous people in three municipalities in Nariño province, in the south; FARC and army abuses committed in the Urabá region, in the north; FARC and army abuses committed in the northern part of Cauca province; government abuses against members of the Patriotic Union, a political party created by the FARC in the 1980s; and recruitment and use of children by the FARC. During 2019, the Special Jurisdiction opened investigations to determine whether four former FARC commanders had failed to fulfill their responsibilities under the peace accord, including reincorporating former guerrilla fighters into society and testifying before the Special Jurisdiction. In April, the Special Jurisdiction issued a warrant for arrest of one of them, alias “El Paisa,” ruling his failure to testify before the Special Jurisdiction was unjustified. The whereabouts of all four, including the group’s top peace negotiator, alias “Iván Márquez” and alias “Jesús Santrich,” who the US is seeking to have extradited to the US on drug charges, remained unknown at time of writing. In August, these four former FARC commanders, along with about 20 other former mid-level FARC commanders, announced that they were taking up arms again in response to what they called a “betrayal by the state of the peace accord.” In March, the Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional a 2018 law containing a provision that suspended, unless defendants requested otherwise, Special Jurisdiction prosecutions of armed forces soldiers until the government created a “special and differentiated process” for them. Internal Displacement and Land Restitution Conflict-related violence has displaced more than 8.1 million Colombians, out of a population of 49 million, since 1985, government figures reveal. Around 33,000 people were displaced between January and the end of July 2019. The government’s implementation of land restitution under the 2011 Victims’ Law continues to move slowly. The law was enacted to restore millions of hectares of land that were left behind by or stolen from internally displaced Colombians during the conflict. As of July, the courts had issued rulings in only 10,400 of more than 116,000 claims filed. In August, a Democratic Center senator introduced a bill that would limit land restitution in cases where the land was stolen and since sold. Migration from Venezuela DONATE NOW
  • 15. 1/9/23, 13:31 World Report 2020: Colombia | Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/colombia 7/13 Colombia has received by far the largest number of Venezuelan exiles fleeing the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. More than 1.4 million people moved from Venezuela to Colombia between March 2017 and August 2019. In July 2017, the Colombian government created a special permit that allows Venezuelan citizens who enter the country legally but overstay their visas to regularize their status and obtain work permits and access to basic public services. As of July, nearly 600,000 Venezuelans had obtained the permit. Many still remain with irregular status. In August, the Colombian government passed a regulation allowing more than 24,000 Venezuelan children born to undocumented Venezuelan immigrants to claim Colombian nationality. Women’s and Girls’ Rights Gender-based violence, including by armed groups, is widespread in Colombia. Lack of training and poor implementation of treatment protocols impede timely access to medical services and create obstacles for women and girls seeking post-violence care and justice. Perpetrators of violent, gender-based crimes are rarely held accountable. In the southwestern municipality of Tumaco, where sexual violence, including by armed groups, is pervasive, women face an array of obstacles in ensuring protection and accountability. Abortion in Colombia is legal only when the life or health of the woman or girl is at risk, the pregnancy is the result of rape, or the fetus suffers conditions incompatible with life outside the womb. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity In recent years, authorities have taken several steps to recognize the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. In 2015, the Justice Ministry issued a decree allowing people to revise the gender noted on their identification documents without prior judicial approval. Also that year, the Constitutional Court ruled that Colombians cannot be barred from adopting a child because of their sexual orientation. In 2016, the court upheld the right of same-sex couples to marry. Indigenous Rights Indigenous people in Colombia suffer disproportionate levels of poverty that greatly impede their ability to exercise their social and economic rights. From January through mid-August DONATE NOW
  • 16. 1/9/23, 13:31 World Report 2020: Colombia | Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/colombia 8/13 2019, at least 21 children under age five—the majority of them belonging to Wayuu indigenous communities—died in the province of La Guajira of causes associated with malnutrition and limited access to drinking safe water. In August 2019, Colombia’s inspector general said that the government had not taken coordinated action to address the crisis. Key International Actors The United States remains the most influential foreign actor in Colombia. The US House of Representatives approved at least US$457 million for Colombia in June; the bill was pending in the Senate at time of writing. A portion of US military aid is subject to human rights conditions, but the US Department of State has not seriously enforced them. In April, US senators Patrick Leahy, Chris Van Hollen, and Benjamin L. Cardin sent a letter to President Duque expressing their concern with the appointment of officers to senior positions in the army, despite credible information that they were linked to “false positives.” The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court continues to monitor Colombian investigations of crimes that may fall within the court’s jurisdiction. In 2016, at the request of the government of then-President Juan Manuel Santos, the UN Security Council established a political mission in Colombia to monitor and verify implementation of the FARC peace accord. In July 2019, President Duque asked the Security Council to extend the mandate of the UN mission for another year. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) continues to play a key role in defending and promoting human rights in Colombia. In October, the government and high commissioner renegotiated the agreement establishing an OHCHR office in Colombia and extended its mandate for three more years. The Colombian government continues to support regional efforts to address the human rights crisis in Venezuela, including by leading efforts of the Lima Group, a coalition of governments in the region that is monitoring Venezuela’s crisis. DONATE NOW
  • 17. 1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 1/10 COLOMBIA © Amnesty International Amnesty International takes no position on issues of sovereignty or territorial disputes. Borders on this map are based on UN Geospatial data. Back to Colombia COLOMBIA 2022 Human rights defenders continued to face attacks, threats and harassment because of their work; defenders of the land, territory and environment were particularly at risk. Killings and threats targeting former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – Army of the People (FARC-EP) combatants persisted. Attacks on media workers and outlets continued, threatening freedom of expression. Excessive and unnecessary use of force by state officials was reported. Indigenous leaders and defenders were attacked and killed and, in areas where armed opposition groups continued to operate, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities were forcibly displaced and some faced humanitarian crises. A final report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission acknowledged that violations of reproductive rights had been committed during the decades-long armed conflict (1964-2016). Several former army members, civilians and former FARC-EP commanders were charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the conflict before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP). Abortion was decriminalized. Attacks on LGBTI people continued. Gender-based violence persisted and survivors faced ongoing barriers to accessing justice, truth and
  • 18. 1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 2/10 reparation. Venezuelan refugee women faced violence and discrimination on grounds of nationality and gender. Background Parliamentary elections were held on 13 March. Some seats in parliament were reserved for former FARC-EP combatants and for victims of the armed conflict, as stipulated in the 2016 Peace Agreement. In June, the Colombian Truth Commission released its final report, highlighting the need to address historic inequalities, discrimination, racism, gender-based violence, violence against Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants and to guarantee the rights to truth, justice and reparation of victims of the armed conflict. Gustavo Petro, former mayor of Bogotá and former M-19 guerrilla fighter, won the presidential election and began his four-year term in August. He was accompanied by Francia Márquez, environmental defender and the country’s first Black woman vice president. In August, authorities recognized the competence of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and examine individual complaints regarding victims of enforced disappearance. In September, Colombia also ratified the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of Human Rights of Older Persons. In October, Congress approved the Escazú Agreement. President Petro restored diplomatic relations with Venezuela and in September some border operations between the two countries were re-established. In October, President Petro reinstalled and reinitiated meetings of the National Commission for Security Guarantees, established by the Peace Agreement to create a public policy for dismantling armed groups. In October, the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) recommenced peace talks and proposed a “multilateral ceasefire”. The government also explored negotiations with other armed actors in the context of a “total peace“ policy.
  • 19. 1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 3/10 Colombia is one of the South American countries with the highest recurrence of extreme weather events. Approximately 84% of its population is exposed to multiple environmental hazards. According to the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies of Colombia (IDEAM), coastal and insular areas are most sensitive to climate change, as well as high mountain ecosystems. Rights to truth, justice and reparation In January, the Constitutional Court declared an unconstitutional state of affairs due to the constant and massive violations of fundamental rights to life, physical integrity and security of former FARC-EP combatants. The Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (INDEPAZ), a civil society organization, reported 42 killings of former combatants during the year. The UN Security Council stressed its concern regarding the persistent threats, attacks and killings targeting former FARC-EP combatants who had signed the Peace Agreement. According to the Kroc Institute, compliance with the 2016 Peace Agreement between FARC-EP and the Colombian state remained slow, particularly regarding the implementation of ethnic and gender-based approaches. The Institute reported that 37% of the Agreement’s provisions had been minimally implemented and 15% uninitiated. From January to December, the Unit for the Search for Persons Deemed as Missing (UBPD) recovered 185 bodies of people reported missing in the context of the armed conflict, in regions such as Antioquia, Santander and Sucre. In June, the UBPD also reported it had handed the remains of 167 victims back to their families and loved ones since its creation in 2017. Freedom of expression In May, the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) expressed alarm at the arbitrary detention of journalists Luis Ángel and Luna Mendoza, who were covering the high- profile murder of Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci near the city of Cartagena. In May, media outlets in Antioquia and Córdoba departments received death threats in the context of an armed strike declared by the paramilitary group the Gaitanista Self-
  • 20. 1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 4/10 Defence Forces of Colombia (AGC – also known as the Gulf Clan). In July, the Colombian Council of State declared the state responsible for psychological torture, threats, persecution, exile and illegal interception in the case of journalist Claudia Julieta Duque and her family between 2001 and 2010. In August, journalists Leiner Montero and Dilia Contreras were killed in Magdalena department. According to FLIP, the killings were related to their journalistic work. In September, FLIP reported threats against Telemundo journalists covering the Darien Gap migration route. As of September, FLIP had reported 595 violations of freedom of expression against journalists, including two cases of sexual violence. In the first five months of the year, FLIP reported a 59% increase in threats against media workers covering the electoral process compared with 2018. Excessive and unnecessary use of force In May, Indigenous leader Luis Tombé was shot dead in the context of an environmental protest in the town of Miranda, Cauca department, when members of the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) opened fire on protesters calling for the release of fellow demonstrators held by police. In June, civil society platform Campaña Defender la Libertad criticized ESMAD’s excessive use of force against protesters, which resulted in one person sustaining eye trauma at Distrital University in Bogotá. Protesters were calling for more resources and improved infrastructure for the university. Arbitrary detention According to Campaña Defender la Libertad, arbitrary detentions by state security forces increased between March and June, in the context of the upcoming elections. Indigenous peoples’ rights
  • 21. 1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 5/10 Killings and threats targeting Indigenous leaders and defenders continued. In January, the Totoroez Indigenous people reported the killing of Albeiro Camayo, a member of the Indigenous Guard, by FARC-EP dissidents in Cauca department. In February, the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) reported the killing of Julio César Bravo, a human rights defender and leader of the Pastos people in Nariño department. ELN combatants in Chocó department killed Luis Chamapuro, a member of the Wounan people, in February. Also in February, Dilson Arbey Borja, an Indigenous leader, human rights defender and member of the Indigenous Guard, was killed in the city of Turbo, Antioquia department. The OHCHR condemned the killing of Miller Correa in March, in the context of constant threats against his community and its leaders. Miller Correa was a human rights defender and member of the Nasa people in Cauca department. In September, two Wayuu Indigenous infants died of malnutrition in the northern region of La Guajira, taking the death toll among young children there to 39 since January. On 6 September, the Ombudsperson’s Office issued a public warning asking the government to take action to address the humanitarian situation in the region. In June, at least 100 Indigenous people from Alto Andagueda reserve in Chocó were forcibly displaced following clashes between state security forces and illegal armed groups. Indigenous organizations in Chocó highlighted the risk of displacement faced by Emberá Indigenous families due to the presence of illegal armed groups in Chocó in the Jurubida Chori Alto Baudó reserve. In September, Awá peoples highlighted the continuing humanitarian crisis and violence affecting them because of the presence of illegal armed actors on Indigenous reserves in Nariño and Putumayo departments.
  • 22. 1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 6/10 Gender-based violence In July, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) announced the opening of Case 11, relating to sexual violence, grave violations of reproductive rights and violence motivated by the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of the victims in the context of the armed conflict. The Feminicides Observatory reported that there were 557 feminicides in 2022. Victims of gender-based violence, including sexual violence, by state officials in the context of the 2021 national strike faced continuing obstacles in accessing justice and reparation. Sexual and reproductive rights A ruling by the Constitutional Court in February decriminalized abortion up to the 24th week of pregnancy. The historic decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Causa Justa movement. The Truth Commission’s final report recognized that grave violations of reproductive rights, including forced abortions, forced sterilizations and forced contraception, had occurred in the context of the armed conflict. The report recommended that the state avoid restarting aerial fumigation programmes to eradicate illicit crops using the herbicide glyphosate as it has negative effects on people’s reproductive health. LGBTI people’s rights According to the NGO Caribe Afirmativo, between January and July, 15 gay men were killed and LGBTI people faced heightened risks in the city of Medellín. The JEP opened an investigation (Case 7) into sexual crimes and discrimination against forcibly recruited LGBTI children and adolescents during the armed conflict. The Constitutional Court recognized a non-binary gender marker for ID registration, establishing legal precedent for gender diversity. 1
  • 23. 1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 7/10 In March, lesbian rights defender Paola Andrea Jaraba Martínez faced violence and threats, allegedly related to her sexual orientation and work in Córdoba department. According to the NGO Trans Action and Support Group (GAAT), between January and August, 16 trans women were killed in Colombia. Human rights defenders Human rights defenders continued to face attacks, threats and harassment because of their work. Defenders of the land, territory and environment were particularly at risk. In February, several human rights defenders in the Magdalena Medio region were targeted in a pamphlet circulated by an armed group calling itself the United Self- defence Forces of Colombia. The pamphlet referred to human rights defenders as military targets and gave them and their families 48 hours to leave the area or face the consequences. Targeted defenders included Carolina Agón Ramón Abril. Ten days later, Yuvelis Natalia Morales, a 21-year-old environmental defender, was forced to flee Colombia after her home was broken into. In May, unidentified people shot at four environmental defenders belonging to the Federation of Santander Fishers for Tourism and Environment (FEDESPAN), an environmental organization which operates in the city of Barrancabermeja, and assesses possible environmental damage in the Magdalena Medio region. In July, Yuli Velásquez, president of FEDEPESAN, was the victim of an armed attack in which her bodyguard was injured. In August, the minister of the interior installed the first Unified Command Point for Life in Caldono municipality, Cauca department. The aim of this space, and similar spaces that followed in other regions, was to listen to the demands and concerns of communities and protect the lives of social leaders, human rights defenders and others at risk. According to the NGO Programa Somos Defensores, between January and September there were 621 attacks targeting human rights defenders. 2
  • 24. 1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 8/10 INDEPAZ recorded the killings of 189 social leaders and human rights defenders in 2022. Forced displacement OCHA reported that from January to July, there were 220 humanitarian emergencies relating to confinement (meaning people were forced to stay in their territories because of the armed conflict and had limited access to food, drinking water and basic services) and forced displacement, affecting at least 249,106 people, mainly in the pacific region and near the Venezuela-Colombia border. In January, clashes broke out between FARC-EP dissidents and the ELN in Arauca, forcibly displacing 3,860 people. In May, 7,989 people were prevented by non-state armed groups from leaving their homes or moving freely in the zones of Nóvita and San José del Palmar in Chocó. Violations of international humanitarian law Between January and June, the ICRC recorded 377 victims of explosive hazards, including anti-personnel mines and explosive remnants of war, in 16 departments. Cauca, Antioquia, Arauca, Norte de Santander and Meta were the most affected departments. According to the human rights NGO Attorneys Collective José Alvear Restrepo (CAJAR), on 28 March, 11 people were extrajudicially executed during a military incursion in the Puerto Leguízamo municipality, Putumayo department. The National Ombudsperson issued an alert over the presence of the paramilitary group Border Command in Caquetá region and the grave risk to the lives and physical integrity of civil society leaders and former FARC-EP combatants. On 5 May, the AGC imposed a four-day curfew across 10 departments in northern Colombia, following the announcement of the decision to extradite its commander “Otoniel” to the USA. During this so-called armed strike, at least 127 acts of violence
  • 25. 1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 9/10 were reported in 73 municipalities, including four killings, five death threats, 36 cases of restriction of movement and one case of torture and another of kidnapping. In May, Afro-descendant communities reported armed clashes in Istmina, Sipí, Nóvita, Medio San Juan and Litoral del San Juan in Chocó department, resulting in collective forced displacements and the confinement of several Black communities. In June, unidentified armed actors killed Jesusita Moreno and Rómulo Angulo López, members of Malaguita Afro-descendant collective territory, in Bajo San Juan, Chocó department. As of 1 December, INDEPAZ reported that 91 massacres (that is, killings of three or more people at the same time and place and by the same alleged perpetrator) had resulted in the deaths of 289 people. Impunity On 18 February, the JEP announced the opening of new cases on the responsibility of FARC-EP combatants for sexual violence, forced displacement and enforced disappearances and other crimes committed by state security forces and officials in coordination with paramilitary groups; and crimes against ethnic communities and territories. By the end of the year, the JEP had charged 79 former army members (including officials), four civilians and one former intelligence agent with crimes against humanity and war crimes in relation to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in Norte de Santander, the Caribbean Coast, Casanare and Antioquia departments. The JEP also charged eight former high-ranking FARC-EP commanders with crimes against humanity and war crimes in the context of a policy of kidnapping and hostage-taking, among other crimes. In September, former FARC-EP combatants accepted responsibility for homicides, forced displacement, forced recruitment and other crimes against civilians in Northern Cauca. Refugees’ and migrants’ rights
  • 26. 1/9/23, 13:34 Human rights in Colombia Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/south-america/colombia/report-colombia/ 10/10 In June, UNICEF declared that the number of children crossing the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama had reached more than 5,000 since the beginning of 2022, twice the number recorded for the same period in 2021. Authorities stated that 2,477,000 Venezuelans were living in Colombia in July, 96% of whom had applied for Temporary Protection Status. Gender-based violence against Venezuelan refugee women persisted and Colombian authorities failed to guarantee Venezuelan women’s rights to a life free from violence and discrimination. 1. Colombia: The Police Does Not Care for Me: Sexual Violence and Other Gender- Based Violence in the 2021 National Strike, 1 December 2. “Colombia: Protect environmental defender at risk”, 15 July 3. Americas: Unprotected: Gender-based Violence against Venezuelan Refugee Women in Colombia and Peru,12 July 3
  • 27. 1/9/23, 13:56 State Capacity in Colombia: Unintended Consequences of Peace https://www.visionofhumanity.org/state-capacity-unintended-consequences-peace/ 1/4 CONFLICT State Capacity in Colombia: Unintended Consequences of Peace A Colombian case study: territorial control is facilitated because of the difficulty of civilians to mobilise with a collective purpose. Search SUBSCRIBE
  • 28. 1/9/23, 13:56 State Capacity in Colombia: Unintended Consequences of Peace https://www.visionofhumanity.org/state-capacity-unintended-consequences-peace/ 2/4 A Colombian case study on state capacity: territorial control is facilitated because of the difficulty of civilians to mobilise with a collective purpose. State Capacity and the Unintended Consequences of Peace A vast academic literature in economics and political science agrees that state capacity is an important determinant of economic development. In turn, this literature also recognises that a key element of state formation is the consolidation of the monopoly of violence within a given territory. Importantly, however, this function is not limited to a central institutionalised authority. In the context of internal conflict, non-state actors can also establish social order within specific peripheral territories. They can also regulate most public and private affairs and enforce rules in what constitutes a de facto pseudo-state. In this context, situations that end up in the withdrawal of the ruling actor generate a vacuum of power that other armed groups often rush in to fill. In turn, consolidating territorial dominance often entails the use of selective violence as a strategy to ensure the compliance of the local populations. We researched the systematic killing of local social leaders that has taken place in Colombia in the last few years in a recent paper. The paper was co-authored with Mounu Prem and Andrés Rivera from Universidad del Rosario, and with Darío Romero from Columbia University, From January 2009 to June 2017 over 500 social leaders were killed in Colombia, and this pattern seems to have experienced an important increase at the beginning of 2015 (see Figure 1).
  • 29. 1/9/23, 13:56 State Capacity in Colombia: Unintended Consequences of Peace https://www.visionofhumanity.org/state-capacity-unintended-consequences-peace/ 3/4 We found that the permanent ceasefire of 2014 by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) encouraged killings of local leaders by other illegal armed groups. These other armed groups were seeking to occupy the areas previously controlled by FARC. Peace negotiations in 2014 The ceasefire was declared on December 20, 2014 and resulted from the peace negotiations that FARC held with the Government of Colombia since October 2012. The final peace agreement, signed at the end of 2016, is probably the most important political achievement of a country that faced over five decades of internal armed conflict. However, the unprecedented surge in assassination of leaders casted shadows over the euphoria from the peace negotiations. Did killings increase after FARC’s ceasefire? Using a triple differences strategy, we show that the killing of social leaders increased disproportionally after the start of FARC’s permanent cease fire in places previously dominated by this insurgency and located in the proximity of areas with presence of other armed groups. Figure 2 summarises both the methodology and the main results from our analysis. When the permanent ceasefire is announced (vertical line), the number of social leaders killed remains almost constant in municipalities with FARC presence prior to the cease-fire, but not exposed to the influence of other armed groups. In contrast, the killing of leaders increases dramatically in areas both controlled by FARC and exposed to the influence of other armed groups. Key Findings Results are consistent with the idea that territorial control is facilitated because civilians had difficulty mobilising with a collective purpose. Because the incapacity of FARC insurgency to oppose violently, the permanent ceasefire facilitated the arrival of other illegal armed actors to territories traditionally dominated by this insurgency. By killing local social leaders, these other armed groups reduce the collective action from communities, and increase their ability to exercise control locally. Consistent with this interpretation, we found that killing leaders isn’t explained by a differential trend of the homicide rate.
  • 30. 1/9/23, 13:56 State Capacity in Colombia: Unintended Consequences of Peace https://www.visionofhumanity.org/state-capacity-unintended-consequences-peace/ 4/4 Thus, it is not explained by either a strategy of indiscriminate killings of civilians or a differential change of reporting rates in previously FARC-controlled areas after the ceasefire. Killings in areas with weak state capacity In addition, we show that weaker state capacity and an inefficient local judiciary exacerbates the killing of leaders. Our findings highlight the unintended consequences of the lack of state capacity: Central governments in the context of civil war often have to exercise the monopoly of violence The institutional presence in peripheral regions is traditionally dominated by illegal armed groups Get Started What is Positive Peace? Positive Peace Academy Global Peace News Ambassador Program Free Report Downloads Maps Global Peace Index Global Terrorism Index Ecological Threat Register Company About Us Events Donate Get In Touch Terms Privacy Policy Terms GDPR © 2023 Institute for Economics & Peace. All rights reserved.
  • 31. 1/9/23, 14:06 Colombia's Total Peace Strategy Sees Mixed Results One Year On https://insightcrime.org/news/colombias-total-peace-one-year-on-less-state-violence-stronger-criminal-groups/ 1/3 Home ᐳ News ᐳ Colombia's Total Peace 1-Year-On: Less State Violence, Stronger Criminal Groups NEWS Colombia's Total Peace 1-Year- On: Less State Violence, Stronger Criminal Groups COLOMBIA / 24 AUG 2023 BY YAGO ROSADO EN One year into Colombian President Gustavo Petro's “Total Peace” project, a report describes how violence against the state has decreased while the country’s criminal groups have grown in strength. The report by Fundación Ideas Para la Paz, published August 22, explains that Colombia's main criminal groups have expanded their territorial control, enhanced their power of recruitment, and diversified their income. All of this has increased the number of clashes between them and generated a worrying humanitarian climate, found the report. Below, InSight Crime analyzes three findings from the report to assess the evolution of Colombia’s criminal landscape one year after Petro's Total Peace announcement. Violence Against the State Falls While Inter-Group Disputes Increase During its first year, the Petro government has overseen a significant reduction in confrontations between state security forces and armed groups such as the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional - ELN), the ex-FARC mafia, and the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia - AGC). Between July 2022 and August 2023, there were fewer than 100 clashes, while in 2021 there were more than 170. According to the report, these groups no longer confront the state "because they have no pretensions or capacity to affect its stability or the seizure of power at the national level.” But not everything is positive. The report's data show that disputes between the country's main armed groups have increased as they look to maintain and expand their territorial control. Clashes between armed groups have grown by 85% during Petro's first year in office, making it the highest figure in the last decade. During this period, the ex-FARC mafia, ELN, and AGC have reinforced their ranks. Their combined total membership is now 7,620, according to the report. They are also supported by a network of at least 7,512 people, exceeding the figures reported in previous years, which averaged 6,000. Armed Groups Continue Killing Although homicides have decreased by 1.5% in comparison to the last year under former president, Iván Duque (2018-2022), violence has continued unabated in the departments where armed groups have a strong presence. The island of San Andrés and the departments of Sucre and Vaupes, where the AGC and the ex-FARC mafia have operations, have seen homicides increase by 72%, 59%, and 50% respectively. Bolivar and Putumayo also saw increases of between 10% and 20%. At the national level, kidnapping have risen by 77% and extortion by almost 15%. In both cases, these are the highest figures in the last decade and contrast starkly against the goals of Total Peace, which has so far failed to establish ceasefire agreements with ex-FARC mafia factions or the AGC. In fact, the government broke off talks with the latter group earlier this year. The report’s data also shows the populations in rural areas are suffering higher rates of threats, extortion, and forced displacement. Tags COLOMBIA ELN EX-FARC MAFIA GAITANISTAS HOMICIDES SECURITY POLICY Was this content helpful? We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources. DONATE Privacidad - Términos EVENTS DONATE ABOUT US   EN ES
  • 32. 1/9/23, 14:06 Colombia's Total Peace Strategy Sees Mixed Results One Year On https://insightcrime.org/news/colombias-total-peace-one-year-on-less-state-violence-stronger-criminal-groups/ 2/3 Peace Talks Not Impeding Criminal Armed Groups Talks to demobilize the multiple criminal groups active in Colombia are stalling. The report indicates that, after initial momentum in 2022 when many armed groups announced their intentions to talk with the Petro administration, negotiations are progressing intermittently and slowly. Though not straightforward, negotiations with the ELN are the most advanced. The bilateral ceasefire between the ELN and the Colombian state, and the involvement of the National Participation Committee (Comité de Participación Nacional - CNP), have provided a solid foundation for future progress. No other negotiations with armed groups have gotten this far. In fact, the negotiation processes with groups such as the AGC, the Pachenca, and a myriad of urban groups, are stalled due to the lack of a clear legal framework in which the two groups can discuss and plan. Meanwhile, in the case of the ex-FARC mafia, talks are taking place while the group disputes different territories, such as the Colombian Pacific, where they are fighting over drug trafficking routes to international markets. COLOMBIA ELN EX-FARC MAFIA GAITANISTAS HOMICIDES SECURITY POLICY share Was this content helpful? We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources. DONATE What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments. We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article. Latest News NEWS / 31 AUG 2023 NEWS / 1 SEP 2023 Security Force Corruption Scandal Rocks Brazil’s Biggest Amazon State Venezuela’s Armed Non-St Actors Bolster Maduro in E Lead-Up Related Content SEE MORE Five Years into Colombia Peace Process, Ex-FARC Fighters Continue to Flee COLOMBIA / 26 NOV 2021 Alerts of the mass displacement of ex- combatants in Meta, due to the deteriorating security situation in the department, warn of… The Gaitanistas' Venezuela Gamble May Be Failing COLOMBIA / 2 SEP 2021 The Urabeños, one of Colombia's dominant drug groups, are seemingly ramping up operations along the Colombia-Venezuela border – a gambit… Mexico Reliant on Army to Fight Crime Despite Human Rights Abuses AYOTZINAPA / 6 OCT 2022 Mexico's army is being given more public security responsibilities, despite its human rights abuses.