The ’total peace’ initiative appears to have backfired, although for now cartels and splinter groups are now more focused on fighting each other than the state.
Drug cartels are tightening their grip on Colombia amid failed peace initiatives, economic stagnation, and forced recruitment into terrorist groups, say experts.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “total peace” initiative aimed to enforce a 2016 peace accord struck between the former Santos administration and the decades-old terrorist group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
In 2022, Petro’s expansion of the law aimed to “carry out dialogues” with the FARC terrorists. Under that same umbrella, Petro’s initiative hoped to tackle land redistribution programs and shift away from policies that focused on the forced eradication of coca grown for narcotrafficking.
More than two years later, clashes between terrorist groups and police forces are down, but violence between cartels and forced recruitment is growing.
“One may argue the ceasefire Petro organized contributed to this and allowed these groups to get more organized,” Tiziano Breda, senior analyst for Latin America and the Caribbean at Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, told The Epoch Times.
Breda shared insights into Colombia’s worsening crime dynamic, which he said has pushed the nation to the brink of becoming a “failed state.”
He said for the moment, cartels and their splinter groups are now more focused on fighting each other than the state. Breda also observed that conflicts have become “hyper-localized” during his on-location work in Colombia.
“They’re fighting more for control among each other. Not only are the relationships between groups open to changes all the time but also within the groups,” Breda said.
Illegal mining and drug trafficking are among the chief activities used to bankroll cartel activities in Colombia, especially in the department of Norte de Santander.
The Catatumbo area of Norte de Santander near Colombia’s shared border with Venezuela is one of the most heavy drug trafficking regions in the country. It’s also a stronghold for the National Liberation Army (ELN) terrorist group.
