Gustavo Petro reactivates “all military operations” against the Clan del Golfo

( Spanish) — The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, reported this Sunday on Twitter that he had suspended the ceasefire against the Clan del Golfo and ordered the Public Force to “reactivate all military operations” against the armed group.

In one of the messages, Petro said the move followed the “rifle attack on the available police force” by the group.

“As of this moment there is no ceasefire with the Clan del Golfo. The Public Force must act immediately against the structures of the mafia organization,” he explained in one of the messages.

“We will not allow them to continue sowing anxiety and terror in the communities,” added the president.

The Clan del Golfo, the largest drug cartel in Colombia, is part of the criminal gangs linked to drug trafficking and guerrilla groups with which the Government of Petro seeks to achieve peace in the country through negotiation and submission processes to justice, an initiative known as “Total Peace”.

The Colombian Congress approved the Total Peace Law in October 2022, which gives the Government the green light to pursue these objectives.

The law grants powers to negotiate with armed groups such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the dissidents of the FARC, which rejected a 2016 agreement and returned to the armed struggle and another that never signed the pact. It can also initiate peace negotiations with criminal gangs such as the Clan del Golfo, whose leaders and members may receive benefits such as reduced sentences and non-extradition in exchange for reporting routes to export cocaine and handing over part of the illegally obtained fortunes.

This measure has been criticized by various sectors of the population because, they say, many of these groups continue to violate human rights.

With information from Fernando Ramos.