Colombia’s new government under President Abelardo de la Espriella has brought the curtain down on all remaining peace talks in the country, ending his predecessor Gustavo Petro’s ‘Total Peace’ policy of pursuing conflict resolution through dialogue. The closure comes as part of a broader policy against peace that has seen military operations redoubled and former negotiators and local government figures threatened with prosecution for contacts with armed groups.
During his election campaign, De la Espriella pledged to escalate conflict with armed groups, a position he has reiterated several times since taking office one month ago. A series of military raids have since claimed several lives, including at least three children who had been forcibly recruited into the ranks of an armed group.
On Monday 7 September, the government confirmed the closures of negotiations with the Comuneros del Sur, which is an offshoot of the National Liberation Army (ELN), and armed gangs in Medellin and the Valle de Aburrá. Arrest warrants – which had been suspended so groups could participate in talks without fear of being detained – have been reactivated. This follows the previous announcement of an end to talks with the ACSN paramilitary successor group and two so-called dissident groups, the CNEB and the EMBF. The Petro government had already suspended the ELN peace process after the group launched a major military offensive in Catatumbo in January 2025. Total Peace is now officially over.
One of the negotiators, Senator Isabel Zuleta of the progressive Historic Pact party, has had a case opened against her in the Supreme Court for ostensibly exceeding her brief. Meanwhile, regional authorities who led regional peace initiatives under Petro have been warned that any contact with armed groups is now illegal.
The cancellation of different sets of talks casts doubt over the future of armed combatants who have already begun the reintegration processes, such as the 99 members of the Comandos de la Frontera group who since June have been based at a specially established zone, known as a ZUT, in Putumayo, southern Colombia, as agreed in peace talks with the Petro government. The former fighters have petitioned the new government to maintain their reintegration process, inviting President De la Espriella to visit the ZUT.
Military operations under De la Espriella have already produced serious human rights concerns. In late August, two air strikes targeting armed groups in Guaviare department killed more than 30 people, among them three minors aged 15-16 who were victims of forced recruitment. On 3 September, a judge ordered the government to suspend bombings of armed groups if there is evidence that minors are present in the target zone. De la Espriella has given his full backing to the airstrikes, which he claims targeted ‘narco-terrorists’.
The president sparked further condemnation on 3 September after posting a social media video in which he walked among body bags that allegedly contained the remains of 23 armed combatants killed in military operations. Petro accused De la Espriella of ‘turning death into a trophy – something only soulless people can do.’ Historic Pact politician and election runner-up Iván Cepeda said the president ‘calls himself a Christian but in reality he is unscrupulous and lacks the slightest sense of humanity.’
De la Espriella’s performative actions are heightening fears of a disregard for human rights, which activists warn could see the violent targeting of social movements, trade unions and former guerrillas in the peace process.