Armed conflict

Colombia Suspends Offensive Against FARC Dissidents Despite Ceasefire End

Published APR 18 2025

Story

Above: Colombia's President Gustavo Petro waves on arrival at the IX Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit, at the Central Bank of Honduras (BCH) in Tegucigalpa on April 9, 2025. Image credit: Orlando Sierra/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images

The Facts

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro on Friday ordered a pause in offensive operations against a group of dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) until May 18, with the stated goal to ensure agricultural production and protect transit routes.
Reuters
The decree halts both military action and special operations of the National Police against guerrilla units belonging to the Estado Mayor de los Bloques y Frentes (EMBF) — a splinter of the Estado Mayor Central under the leadership of Alexander Díaz, alias "Calarcá Córdoba," that broke away last year to continue talks with the government.
Colombia One
Colombia Reports
InSight Crime
This comes as the official ceasefire between Bogotá and the EMBF — in effect since December 2023 — expired on Tuesday after Petro vetoed a six-month extension.
Colombia One
teleSUR English
Reuters
This decision arrives amid escalating guerrilla violence in the country over recent days, including a car bomb attack in La Plata, department of Huila, that killed two young people, and another attack in Salgar, department of Antioquia, that killed a police officer.
Colombia One
Colombia Reports
The end of the ceasefire, however, does not imply the suspension or the end of peace talks — with a seventh round of talks set to take place in Villavicencio, Meta, from May 18 to 24 — and does not affect the suspension of arrest warrants against members of the EMBF.
Colombia Reports
teleSUR English
Talks with the rebel group that has about 1,500 members are part of the broader "Total Peace" plan to bring Colombia's six-decade internal armed conflict to an end through dialogue, launched after Petro took office in 2022 but with little progress since then.
Reuters
teleSUR English

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

A former guerrilla himself, Petro won the presidency with a bold plan to finally bring the decades-old internal conflict in Colombia to an end, but his so-called total peace has failed. Ceasefires actually allowed armed groups to expand as the government opted not to apply military pressure on them, and Colombia is now on the brink of another escalation.

The Economist

Narrative B

The so-called total peace never intended to achieve lasting peace in Colombia and tackle the root causes of conflict, as Bogotá has relied on dialogue to cause internal divisions within and among insurgent groups and de-politicize them. It's no surprise that this plan is not working.