Addressing Threats to Peace in Colombia

The United States remains deeply concerned about instability, violence, and illicit drug cultivation and trafficking in Colombia.

The United States remains deeply concerned about instability, violence, and illicit drug cultivation and trafficking in Colombia.Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s approach to negotiations with varied armed groups “risks creating perverse incentives,” warned Ambassador Jennifer Locetta, U.S. Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs at the United Nations. “It may encourage violence to improve negotiating leverage and raises serious concerns about impunity for terrorism and other grave crimes.”“The violence and drug trafficking perpetuated by these armed groups, if left unchecked, can spread. It will jeopardize the safety of Colombians, everyone in the region, and certainly of Americans. We urge the government of Colombia to prioritize addressing this threat.” “The United States is alarmed by the rise in the forced recruitment of children by narcoterrorist organizations and urges the Colombian government to uphold its responsibility on the protection of children and security for all its citizens,” urged Ambassador Locetta.The UN Secretary-General’s report on Colombia documents how a failed security strategy characterized by a near halt to coca eradication caused a surge in coca cultivation and cocaine production. This allows illegal armed groups to consolidate their reign of terror across much of the country.These armed groups have caused an acute humanitarian crisis and perpetrate serious abuses against civilians, including forced displacement, confinement, sexual violence, and the recruitment and use of children in combat.“The Colombian government’s policies not only failed to stem this worsening security environment but have in fact facilitated it,” said Ambassador Locetta.“Colombia’s experiments to pause combat operations and curb coca eradication while pursuing talks and ceasefires with multiple armed groups emboldened these groups and improves their negotiating positions,” said Ambassador Locetta.“In three years, the number of armed combatants and their accomplices grew by more than 40 percent according to international observers. Civilians suffer the consequences.” On a more positive note, the U.S. is “heartened by President Petro’s warning to the [National Liberation Army, or] ELN, of military action if they are not serious about pursuing peace. History shows that peace deals require credible threats of military force,” noted Ambassador Locetta. “We urge Colombia to prioritize confronting the violence and terror conducted by these groups and to guarantee security and justice for their victims.”The U.S. condemns those who undermine peace through narcotrafficking and terrorist activity. Indeed, in December, the U.S. designated Clan del Golfo as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, cutting off the group’s access to funding and resources. “There must be no impunity for acts of terror or violence by these illegal armed groups,” stressed Ambassador Locetta.As Colombia approaches national elections later this year, Ambassador Locetta underscored “that political violence has no place in a democratic society. . . .We also continue to urge the government of Colombia to prioritize addressing the security threats from terrorists and drug trafficking cartels.”The United States supports real peace and justice in Colombia, and its relationships with the Colombian people and their institutions are strong and enduring.