Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Thursday the suspension of a ceasefire agreement with a faction that broke away from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group, dealing a blow to his ambitious peace agenda.
The ceasefire, which had been in effect since December 2023 and extended several times, expired earlier this week. A new extension was reportedly not finalized in time.
“I did not extend the bilateral and temporary ceasefire with respect to the civilian population,” Petro said in a statement. He emphasized that this decision does not signify the end of peace talks with the group.
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Petro, who took office in 2022, has sought to end decades of conflict with various armed groups through his “total peace” policy. However, progress has been challenging, with previous suspensions of ceasefires with parts of the dissident group occurring in 2024 after fighters attacked an Indigenous community.
The faction, which currently has around 1,500 members, broke away from FARC when it signed a historic peace pact in 2016 with the Colombian government, ending five decades of fighting. While many FARC fighters followed the terms of the agreement, some older rebel groups and new ones continue to operate in the country.
Following the ceasefire suspension, both parties now have 72 hours to relocate to areas where they will implement their own security measures.
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