OK
https://colombiapeace.org/
Websites
Runtime: 18.5s
On April 04, 2025, 03:48 PM UTC, https://colombiapeace.org/ was accessible when tested on AS396356 in Colombia.
Failures
HTTP Experiment
null
DNS Experiment
null
Control
null
DNS Queries
Resolver:
[scrubbed]
Query:
IN A colombiapeace.org
Engine:
system
Name
Class
TTL
Type
DATA
@
IN
A
104.21.64.1
@
IN
A
104.21.96.1
@
IN
A
104.21.32.1
@
IN
A
104.21.80.1
@
IN
A
104.21.16.1
@
IN
A
104.21.112.1
@
IN
A
104.21.48.1
TCP Connections
Connection to 104.21.112.1:443 succeeded.
Connection to 104.21.32.1:443 succeeded.
Connection to 104.21.16.1:443 succeeded.
Connection to 104.21.48.1:443 succeeded.
Connection to 104.21.80.1:443 succeeded.
Connection to 104.21.96.1:443 succeeded.
Connection to 104.21.64.1:443 succeeded.
HTTP Requests
URL
GET https://colombiapeace.org/
Response Headers
Alt-Svc:h3=":443"; ma=86400Cf-Cache-Status:DYNAMICCf-Ray:92b1f44538623d8b-MIAContent-Type:text/html; charset=UTF-8Date:Fri, 04 Apr 2025 15:49:11 GMTLink:<https://colombiapeace.org/wp-json/>; rel="https://api.w.org/"Server:cloudflareStrict-Transport-Security:max-age=63072000; includeSubDomainsVary:Accept-EncodingX-Content-Type-Options:nosniffX-Frame-Options:SAMEORIGINX-Powered-By:PHP/8.3.19X-Turbo-Charged-By:LiteSpeed
Response Body
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en-US">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
<link rel="profile" href="https://gmpg.org/xfn/11" />
<link rel="pingback" href="https://colombiapeace.org/xmlrpc.php" />
<meta name='robots' content='index, follow, max-image-preview:large, max-snippet:-1, max-video-preview:-1' />
<style>img:is([sizes="auto" i], [sizes^="auto," i]) { contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px }</style>
<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/ -->
<title>Colombia Peace - Monitoring Progress in Peace Implementation</title>
<meta name="description" content="Monitoring Progress in Peace Implementation" />
<link rel="canonical" href="https://colombiapeace.org/" />
<link rel="next" href="https://colombiapeace.org/page/2/" />
<meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" />
<meta property="og:type" content="website" />
<meta property="og:title" content="Colombia Peace" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Monitoring Progress in Peace Implementation" />
<meta property="og:url" content="https://colombiapeace.org/" />
<meta property="og:site_name" content="Colombia Peace" />
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
<meta name="twitter:site" content="@wola_org" />
<script type="application/ld+json" class="yoast-schema-graph">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"CollectionPage","@id":"https://colombiapeace.org/","url":"https://colombiapeace.org/","name":"Colombia Peace - Monitoring Progress in Peace Implementation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://colombiapeace.org/#website"},"about":{"@id":"https://colombiapeace.org/#organization"},"description":"Monitoring Progress in Peace Implementation","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://colombiapeace.org/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://colombiapeace.org/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://colombiapeace.org/#website","url":"https://colombiapeace.org/","name":"Colombia Peace","description":"Monitoring Progress in Peace Implementation","publisher":{"@id":"https://colombiapeace.org/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://colombiapeace.org/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://colombiapeace.org/#organization","name":"Washington Office on Latin America","url":"https://colombiapeace.org/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https://colombiapeace.org/#/schema/logo/image/","url":"https://i1.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/logo-black.png?fit=2040%2C2037&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https://i1.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/logo-black.png?fit=2040%2C2037&ssl=1","width":2040,"height":2037,"caption":"Washington Office on Latin America"},"image":{"@id":"https://colombiapeace.org/#/schema/logo/image/"},"sameAs":["https://facebook.com/WOLA.org/","https://x.com/wola_org"]}]}</script>
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="googledb197fa89890397d" />
<!-- / Yoast SEO plugin. -->
<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//platform-api.sharethis.com' />
<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//stats.wp.com' />
<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//fonts.googleapis.com' />
<link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//v0.wordpress.com' />
<link rel='preconnect' href='//i0.wp.com' />
<link rel='preconnect' href='//c0.wp.com' />
<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Colombia Peace » Feed" href="https://colombiapeace.org/feed/" />
<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Colombia Peace » Comments Feed" href="https://colombiapeace.org/comments/feed/" />
<script type="text/javascript">
/* <![CDATA[ */
window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/15.0.3\/72x72\/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/15.0.3\/svg\/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https:\/\/colombiapeace.org\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=6.7.2"}};
/*! This file is auto-generated */
!function(i,n){var o,s,e;function c(e){try{var t={supportTests:e,timestamp:(new Date).valueOf()};sessionStorage.setItem(o,JSON.stringify(t))}catch(e){}}function p(e,t,n){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);var t=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data),r=(e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(n,0,0),new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data));return t.every(function(e,t){return e===r[t]})}function u(e,t,n){switch(t){case"flag":return n(e,"\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f","\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200b\u26a7\ufe0f")?!1:!n(e,"\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf3","\ud83c\uddfa\u200b\ud83c\uddf3")&&!n(e,"\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f","\ud83c\udff4\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc62\u200b\udb40\udc65\u200b\udb40\udc6e\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc7f");case"emoji":return!n(e,"\ud83d\udc26\u200d\u2b1b","\ud83d\udc26\u200b\u2b1b")}return!1}function f(e,t,n){var r="undefined"!=typeof WorkerGlobalScope&&self instanceof WorkerGlobalScope?new OffscreenCanvas(300,150):i.createElement("canvas"),a=r.getContext("2d",{willReadFrequently:!0}),o=(a.textBaseline="top",a.font="600 32px Arial",{});return e.forEach(function(e){o[e]=t(a,e,n)}),o}function t(e){var t=i.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=!0,i.head.appendChild(t)}"undefined"!=typeof Promise&&(o="wpEmojiSettingsSupports",s=["flag","emoji"],n.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},e=new Promise(function(e){i.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",e,{once:!0})}),new Promise(function(t){var n=function(){try{var e=JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem(o));if("object"==typeof e&&"number"==typeof e.timestamp&&(new Date).valueOf()<e.timestamp+604800&&"object"==typeof e.supportTests)return e.supportTests}catch(e){}return null}();if(!n){if("undefined"!=typeof Worker&&"undefined"!=typeof OffscreenCanvas&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&URL.createObjectURL&&"undefined"!=typeof Blob)try{var e="postMessage("+f.toString()+"("+[JSON.stringify(s),u.toString(),p.toString()].join(",")+"));",r=new Blob([e],{type:"text/javascript"}),a=new Worker(URL.createObjectURL(r),{name:"wpTestEmojiSupports"});return void(a.onmessage=function(e){c(n=e.data),a.terminate(),t(n)})}catch(e){}c(n=f(s,u,p))}t(n)}).then(function(e){for(var t in e)n.supports[t]=e[t],n.supports.everything=n.supports.everything&&n.supports[t],"flag"!==t&&(n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&n.supports[t]);n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!n.supports.flag,n.DOMReady=!1,n.readyCallback=function(){n.DOMReady=!0}}).then(function(){return e}).then(function(){var e;n.supports.everything||(n.readyCallback(),(e=n.source||{}).concatemoji?t(e.concatemoji):e.wpemoji&&e.twemoji&&(t(e.twemoji),t(e.wpemoji)))}))}((window,document),window._wpemojiSettings);
/* ]]> */
</script>
<style id='wp-emoji-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'>
img.wp-smiley, img.emoji {
display: inline !important;
border: none !important;
box-shadow: none !important;
height: 1em !important;
width: 1em !important;
margin: 0 0.07em !important;
vertical-align: -0.1em !important;
background: none !important;
padding: 0 !important;
}
</style>
<link rel='stylesheet' id='wp-block-library-css' href='https://c0.wp.com/c/6.7.2/wp-includes/css/dist/block-library/style.min.css' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='mediaelement-css' href='https://c0.wp.com/c/6.7.2/wp-includes/js/mediaelement/mediaelementplayer-legacy.min.css' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='wp-mediaelement-css' href='https://c0.wp.com/c/6.7.2/wp-includes/js/mediaelement/wp-mediaelement.min.css' type='text/css' media='all' />
<style id='jetpack-sharing-buttons-style-inline-css' type='text/css'>
.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list{display:flex;flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:0;list-style-type:none;margin:5px;padding:0}.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list.has-small-icon-size{font-size:12px}.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list.has-normal-icon-size{font-size:16px}.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list.has-large-icon-size{font-size:24px}.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list.has-huge-icon-size{font-size:36px}@media print{.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list{display:none!important}}.editor-styles-wrapper .wp-block-jetpack-sharing-buttons{gap:0;padding-inline-start:0}ul.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list.has-background{padding:1.25em 2.375em}
</style>
<style id='classic-theme-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'>
/*! This file is auto-generated */
.wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none}
</style>
<style id='global-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'>
:root{--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--square: 1;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--4-3: 4/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-4: 3/4;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-2: 3/2;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--2-3: 2/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--16-9: 16/9;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--9-16: 9/16;--wp--preset--color--black: #000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white: #ffffff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink: #f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red: #cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange: #ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber: #fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan: #7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan: #00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue: #8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue: #0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple: #9b51e0;--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);--wp--preset--font-size--small: 13px;--wp--preset--font-size--medium: 20px;--wp--preset--font-size--large: 36px;--wp--preset--font-size--x-large: 42px;--wp--preset--spacing--20: 0.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30: 0.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40: 1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50: 1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60: 2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70: 3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80: 5.06rem;--wp--preset--shadow--natural: 6px 6px 9px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--deep: 12px 12px 50px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);--wp--preset--shadow--sharp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--outlined: 6px 6px 0px -3px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 6px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);--wp--preset--shadow--crisp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap: 0.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap: 0.5em;}body .is-layout-flex{display: flex;}.is-layout-flex{flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;}.is-layout-flex > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}body .is-layout-grid{display: grid;}.is-layout-grid > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;}.has-black-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;}
:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;}
:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;}
:root :where(.wp-block-pullquote){font-size: 1.5em;line-height: 1.6;}
</style>
<link rel='stylesheet' id='mc4wp-form-basic-css' href='https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/plugins/mailchimp-for-wp/assets/css/form-basic.css?ver=4.10.1' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='parent-style-css' href='https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/themes/magazine-basic/style.css?ver=6.7.2' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='google_fonts-css' href='//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Cantata+One|Lato:300,700' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='theme_stylesheet-css' href='https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/themes/magazine-basic-child/style.css?ver=6.7.2' type='text/css' media='all' />
<link rel='stylesheet' id='font_awesome-css' href='https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/themes/magazine-basic/library/css/font-awesome.css?ver=4.7.0' type='text/css' media='all' />
<style id='akismet-widget-style-inline-css' type='text/css'>
.a-stats {
--akismet-color-mid-green: #357b49;
--akismet-color-white: #fff;
--akismet-color-light-grey: #f6f7f7;
max-width: 350px;
width: auto;
}
.a-stats * {
all: unset;
box-sizing: border-box;
}
.a-stats strong {
font-weight: 600;
}
.a-stats a.a-stats__link,
.a-stats a.a-stats__link:visited,
.a-stats a.a-stats__link:active {
background: var(--akismet-color-mid-green);
border: none;
box-shadow: none;
border-radius: 8px;
color: var(--akismet-color-white);
cursor: pointer;
display: block;
font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Roboto', 'Oxygen-Sans', 'Ubuntu', 'Cantarell', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;
font-weight: 500;
padding: 12px;
text-align: center;
text-decoration: none;
transition: all 0.2s ease;
}
/* Extra specificity to deal with TwentyTwentyOne focus style */
.widget .a-stats a.a-stats__link:focus {
background: var(--akismet-color-mid-green);
color: var(--akismet-color-white);
text-decoration: none;
}
.a-stats a.a-stats__link:hover {
filter: brightness(110%);
box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.06), 0 0 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.16);
}
.a-stats .count {
color: var(--akismet-color-white);
display: block;
font-size: 1.5em;
line-height: 1.4;
padding: 0 13px;
white-space: nowrap;
}
</style>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://c0.wp.com/c/6.7.2/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js" id="jquery-core-js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://c0.wp.com/c/6.7.2/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery-migrate.min.js" id="jquery-migrate-js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="//platform-api.sharethis.com/js/sharethis.js#source=googleanalytics-wordpress#product=ga&property=5ee98b1132ef500012dcd2c0" id="googleanalytics-platform-sharethis-js"></script>
<link rel="https://api.w.org/" href="https://colombiapeace.org/wp-json/" /><link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="https://colombiapeace.org/xmlrpc.php?rsd" />
<meta name="generator" content="WordPress 6.7.2" />
<link rel='shortlink' href='https://wp.me/3BLYb' />
<style>img#wpstats{display:none}</style>
<style>
#site-title a,#site-description{position:absolute !important;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);clip:rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px)}
#page{background-color:#ffffff}
.entry-meta a,.entry-content a,.widget a{color:#00b5ef}
</style>
<script>
(function() {
(function (i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {
i['GoogleAnalyticsObject'] = r;
i[r] = i[r] || function () {
(i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)
}, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();
a = s.createElement(o),
m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];
a.async = 1;
a.src = g;
m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)
})(window, document, 'script', 'https://google-analytics.com/analytics.js', 'ga');
ga('create', 'UA-702042-13', 'auto');
ga('send', 'pageview');
})();
</script>
<style type="text/css" id="custom-background-css">
body.custom-background { background-color: #efefef; background-image: url("https://colombiapeace.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/solid.jpg"); background-position: left top; background-size: auto; background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; }
</style>
<link rel="icon" href="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cropped-logo-black.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1" sizes="32x32" />
<link rel="icon" href="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cropped-logo-black.png?fit=192%2C192&ssl=1" sizes="192x192" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cropped-logo-black.png?fit=180%2C180&ssl=1" />
<meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cropped-logo-black.png?fit=270%2C270&ssl=1" />
<style type="text/css" id="wp-custom-css">
.topbuttons {
position: absolute;
top: 0;
width: 100%;
margin-top: 3em;
margin-left: -1.5em;
}
.menus {
background: #00B5EF;
clear: both;
display: block;
font-family: 'PT Sans', 'Avenir Next', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
font-size: 20px;
font-weight: 400;
}
.menus li {
padding: 0 22px;
}
.menus li {
padding-left: 0.2em;
padding-right: 0.2em;
padding-bottom: 0;
padding-top: 0;
}
.selectedbutton {
position: relative;
float: left;
width: 33%;
border-style: solid;
border-width: 4px;
background-color: firebrick;
text-align: center;
color: white;
font-weight: bold;
font-size: 120%;
}
.otherbutton {
position: relative;
float: left;
width: 33%;
border-style: solid;
border-width: 1px;
text-align: center;
color: dimgray;
}
#mainbody {
margin-top: 4em;
margin-bottom: 3em;
border-style: solid;
border-width: medium;
border-color: firebrick;
padding: 1em;
background-color: rgb(240,240,240);
}
.c9, .c12 {
float: left;
min-height: 1px;
padding-left: 45px;
padding-right: 45px;
position: relative;
}
.entry-title {
font-size: 2em;
margin: 0;
line-height: 1.2;
font-weight: 700 !important;
}
.entry-title a {
text-decoration: none;
color: #333 !important;
}
.entry-title a:hover,
.format-link cite a:hover {
color: #666 !important;
}
.entry-meta a {
text-decoration: none;
border-bottom: 1px dotted;
}
.post-category a {
text-decoration: none;
color: #666 !important;
}
.post-category a:hover {
color: #444;
}
.entry-content {
border-bottom: 10px solid #aaa;
font-size: 130%;
overflow: hidden;
padding-bottom: 10px;
} </style>
</head>
<body class="home blog custom-background">
<div id="page" class="grid ">
<header id="header" class="row" role="banner">
<div class="c12">
<div id="mobile-menu">
<a href="#" class="left-menu"><i class="fa fa-reorder"></i></a>
<a href="#"><i class="fa fa-search"></i></a>
</div>
<div id="drop-down-search"><form role="search" method="get" class="search-form" action="https://colombiapeace.org/">
<label>
<span class="screen-reader-text">Search for:</span>
<input type="search" class="search-field" placeholder="Search …" value="" name="s" />
</label>
<input type="submit" class="search-submit" value="Search" />
</form></div>
<div class="title-logo-wrapper remove">
<div class="header-group">
<h1 id="site-title"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org" title="Colombia Peace" rel="home">Colombia Peace</a></h1>
</div>
</div>
<a href="https://colombiapeace.org" title="Colombia Peace" rel="home"><img id="header-img" src="https://colombiapeace.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/cropped-cropped-WOLA_colombia_banner2.jpg" width="1200" height="118" alt="" /></a>
<div id="nav-wrapper">
<div class="nav-content">
<nav id="site-navigation" class="menus clearfix" role="navigation">
<h3 class="screen-reader-text">Main menu</h3>
<a class="screen-reader-text" href="#primary" title="Skip to content">Skip to content</a>
<div id="main-menu" class="menu-resources-from-wola-container"><ul id="menu-resources-from-wola" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-523" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom current-menu-item current_page_item menu-item-home menu-item-523"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/" aria-current="page">Home</a>
<li id="menu-item-1158" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-1158"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/category/timeline/">Timeline</a>
<li id="menu-item-1713" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1713"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/explainers/">Explainers</a>
<li id="menu-item-1458" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1458"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/numbers/">Numbers</a>
<li id="menu-item-1519" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-1519"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/category/infographics/">Infographics</a>
<li id="menu-item-1311" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-has-children sub-menu-parent menu-item-1311"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/category/reports/">Reports</a>
<ul class="sub-menu">
<li id="menu-item-1316" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-1316"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/category/reports/">* Show All *</a>
<li id="menu-item-1315" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-1315"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/category/reports/wola-reports/">From WOLA</a>
<li id="menu-item-1314" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-1314"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/category/reports/official-reports/">From Official Sources</a>
<li id="menu-item-1313" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-1313"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/category/reports/ngo-reports/">From NGOs</a>
<li id="menu-item-1312" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-1312"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/category/reports/media-reports/">From Media</a>
</ul>
<li id="menu-item-1253" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-1253"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/category/photos/">Photos</a>
<li id="menu-item-1391" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-1391"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/category/videos/">Videos</a>
<li id="menu-item-1239" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-1239"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/pre-2016-resources/">Archived Site</a>
</ul></div> </nav><!-- #site-navigation -->
</div>
</div>
</div><!-- .c12 -->
</header><!-- #header.row -->
<div id="main" class="row"> <div id="primary" class="c9" role="main">
<div class="row">
<article id="post-3748" class="c12 post-3748 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates-from-wola tag-displacement tag-human-rights tag-land-tenure tag-montes-de-maria tag-paramilitarism">
<header>
<h2 class="entry-title taggedlink"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/marta-ruiz-on-the-reverse-land-reform-in-montes-de-maria/" rel="bookmark">Marta Ruiz on the “Reverse Land Reform” in Montes de María</a></h2>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2023-09-20">September 20, 2023</time> </div>
</header>
<div class="entry-content">
<p>If a drug-funded armed group on the U.S. government’s terrorist list forces thousands of family farmers off their land, <strong>can companies who bought that land just a few years later really claim to have done so “in good faith?”</strong></p>
<p>Marta Ruiz, a journalist who served as a commissioner of Colombia’s Truth Commission, asked that question in a <a href="https://www.lasillavacia.com/la-silla-vacia/opinion/articulos-columna/la-buena-fe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">September 10 column</a> at the Colombian news site <em>La Silla Vacía</em>. She was writing about the Montes de María, a region near the country’s Caribbean coast where small farmers struggled to win titles to their lands, only to be massively displaced by an early 2000s scorched-earth campaign, including a string of notoriously bloody massacres, by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). The AUC were a paramilitary network—on the State Department’s <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://2001-2009.state.gov/secretary/former/powell/remarks/2001/4852.htm" target="_blank">terrorist list</a> between 2001 and 2013—that colluded with large landowners, narcotraffickers, and elements of Colombia’s armed forces.</p>
<div class="wp-block-image grayOutline">
<figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><a href="http://ccai-colombia.org/2012/01/30/consolidation-land-restitution-and-rising-tensions-in-montes-de-mara/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CleanShot-2023-09-19-at-16.34.58@2x.jpg?resize=720%2C437&ssl=1" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-6594" style="width:840px;height:510px" width="840" height="510"/><noscript><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CleanShot-2023-09-19-at-16.34.58@2x.jpg?resize=720%2C437&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-6594" style="width:840px;height:510px" width="840" height="510"/></noscript></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(WOLA <a href="http://ccai-colombia.org/2012/01/30/consolidation-land-restitution-and-rising-tensions-in-montes-de-mara/">report about the Montes de María</a> from 2012.)</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>In late August, Colombian President Gustavo Petro visited El Salado, a village in the Montes de María known for a grisly 2000 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/14/world/colombians-tell-of-massacre-as-army-stood-by.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">massacre</a>. There, he called out Argos, a cement company that is one of Colombia’s largest corporations. (Argos USA’s <a href="https://argos-us.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">website</a> calls it “the most sustainable company in the industry.”) Marta Ruiz reported that Petro said:</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“Argos took the land of the displaced, I am not going to accuse them of the massacre, but they benefited from the fruit of the massacre and the blood.” The company immediately responded by arguing its good faith in the purchase of 6,600 hectares in the municipalities of Carmen and Ovejas.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="wp-block-image grayOutline">
<figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/media.presidencia.gov.co/Fotos/2023/Agosto/230830-02-Entrega-tierras-victimas-conflicto-armado-Acuerdos-Paz.jpg?ssl=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img decoding="async" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/230830-02-Entrega-tierras-victimas-conflicto-armado-Acuerdos-Paz.jpg?resize=720%2C315&ssl=1" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-6595"/><noscript><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/230830-02-Entrega-tierras-victimas-conflicto-armado-Acuerdos-Paz.jpg?resize=720%2C315&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-6595"/></noscript></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><a href="https://media.presidencia.gov.co/Fotos/2023/Agosto/230830-02-Entrega-tierras-victimas-conflicto-armado-Acuerdos-Paz.jpg">Petro in El Salado (Presidency of Colombia)</a>.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Ruiz’s column then recounts the recent history of this troubled region, which is less than two hours’ drive from Cartagena. First, the land-tenure struggles of the 1960s and 1970s, the subject of many histories and academic studies in Colombia.</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>Populated by mestizos, indigenous people and Afros, it was the scene of strong agrarian struggles against unproductive large estates throughout the 20th century. In fact, it was the site chosen by [1966-1970 president] Carlos Lleras Restrepo to launch the ANUC [government-sanctioned small-farmers’ organization] and his agrarian reform, with much more radical speeches than Petro’s against the rentier landowners and landlords. In those years, many peasant families obtained plots of land of a maximum of 12 hectares, and others after 1994 when, with Law 160, land adjudication resumed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Then, the paramilitary onslaught of the late 1990s and early 2000s, which reversed so many farmers’ hard-won gains.</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>By the mid-1990s, the FARC-EP—which were already in the region—became very strong in the mountains, and from there they tried to dominate the entire region. The ranchers, tired of kidnapping and extortion, demanded that [top AUC leader] Carlos Castaño send his army of thugs to that part of the Caribbean. But since a war is expensive and they were not going to finance it, it was obvious that drug traffickers, who eventually became owners of immense lands in the region’s lowlands and coastal areas, would have to enter the war, thus consolidating their illicit trade routes.</p>
<p>…<strong>Then came the “expediting” of massacres</strong>. First was Pichilín, a small village high in the mountains between Colosó and Morroa. Everyone left there, except one old man who ended up talking to the trees. Then followed Macayepo, Chengue, El Salado, Las Brisas, Capaca, Los Guaimaros… I can go on until I fill the page with more than 50 names of villages that were razed to the ground. Between 2000 and 2005 at least one million peasants in the Caribbean region were displaced and lost their land. In Carmen de Bolivar alone, once a prosperous town, 80 percent of the rural inhabitants were exiled.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="wp-block-image grayOutline">
<figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/P1020526-scaled.jpg?ssl=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img decoding="async" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/P1020526.jpg?resize=720%2C405&ssl=1" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-6596"/><noscript><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/P1020526.jpg?resize=720%2C405&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-6596"/></noscript></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Home abandoned in Chinulito, Colosó, Sucre (photo by me in 2011)</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>The AUC went through a <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2005/07/31/smoke-and-mirrors/colombias-demobilization-paramilitary-groups" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sort of</a> demobilization process in the mid-2000s. By then, for a time, the armed forces became the major human rights violators in the Montes de María.</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>After the demobilization of the AUC…there was a time of extrajudicial executions, disappearances, dispossessions and mass arrests. The latter were a nefarious practice of the public forces because they were based on biased intelligence, based on the stigmatization of entire towns such as Ovejas, where 130 people were arrested in a single day. Between paramilitaries, guerrillas and security forces, a century’s worth of campesino organization was almost wiped out.</p>
<p>In 2007 the final “battle” took place with a bombing where [top regional FARC leader] Martín Caballero died. Thus the guerrillas were annihilated in that region.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>President Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) oversaw military operations that weakened the FARC, and also oversaw a negotiation process that demobilized the paramilitaries in exchange for light jail sentences. Uribe had the full support of large landowners and business elites, who moved rapidly into the lands abandoned by the small farmers of the Montes de María.</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>Meanwhile, President Uribe and his closest circle encouraged his countrymen in Medellín and Envigado to buy land and invest in Montes de María.</p>
<p>…The consolidation of Democratic Security [Uribe’s signature security policy] would be done hand in hand with businessmen, and the military committed themselves to the construction of a road that would join the Magdalena River with the Caribbean Sea: the Montes de María transverse road. And they did it. Thus, <strong>the counterinsurgency strategy contained an anti-peasant bias which, aligned with a certain vision of development, assured that Colombia’s progress depended on businessmen’s money rather than on the regions’ human capital</strong>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What happened next was a “reverse land reform” throughout the mid-2000s to the early 2010s.</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p><strong>The massive purchase of land was done at a surprising speed and with all kinds of trickery</strong>… The businessmen had access to these databases [of forcibly displaced farmers’ delinquent mortgages] and set themselves the task of looking for the displaced in the poverty belts of Sincelejo, Cartagena, and Barranquilla to ask them, through trickery, half-truths and deceit, for the transfer of their titles… The intermediaries took the land and in exchange left the <em>campesinos</em> with despair, fear, lack of protection and defeat. It was an express agrarian counter-reform.</p>
<p>It is a legend, but absolutely true, that in order to consummate this operation, notary offices worked 24 hours a day for several weeks. It was necessary to accelerate because another part of the state’s institutional framework, the one that was trying to return displaced people, announced the protection of the lands and the prohibition of their sale until the circumstances in which these transactions took place were verified.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="wp-block-image grayOutline">
<figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/P1020854-scaled.jpg?ssl=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img decoding="async" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/P1020854.jpg?resize=720%2C315&ssl=1" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-6597"/><noscript><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/P1020854.jpg?resize=720%2C315&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-6597"/></noscript></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">In 2011, some investors buying up land in the Montes de María portrayed themselves as rural development associations. (Photo by WOLA in El Carmen de Bolívar, Bolívar)</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Of the business organizations that bought up all of the land vacated after the paramilitary onslaught, Argos is the best known.</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>In the midst of such a panorama, Argos bought its first land in San Onofre, Sucre, a municipality where the feared [regional paramilitary leader] Rodrigo Cadena had his headquarters. The company was obliged to compensate for the environmental damage caused by its cement activity by planting forests. Thanks to a forestry incentive law, this compensation became a business: planting teak, a fine and very expensive wood, which has an assured international market… The land was cheap because in their exodus, people left the land. Argos decided not only to stay but to expand to other municipalities and that is when it set its eyes on El Carmen, Ovejas, etc.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Courts, Ruiz noted, have cast doubt on Argos’s claims to have been unaware of the violent dispossession that took place in the lands they purchased, just a few years earlier.</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>The courts have said that Argos did not comply with the due diligence expected of a multinational company that is listed on the world’s major stock exchanges; that is among the five most powerful groups in the country; and that to top it off is part of global pacts for good human rights practices. According to the judges, it is unlikely that a company of its size and capacity would be unaware of the context in which the land purchases and sales took place, let alone their implications.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ruiz credits Argos for steps that it has since taken: “once the Victims Law was approved [2011] and the massive purchases scandal became a reputational risk, the business group cancelled its project in those municipalities. It created the Fundación Crecer en Paz, which remains under its tutelage for the management of the 6,600 hectares already acquired.” Farmers have recovered some of the land.</p>
<p>That is more than can be said of other opportunistic investors who benefited, indirectly or directly, from paramilitary violence in the Montes de María. Still, “it is a pity that Argos maintains its anachronistic discourse about the ‘good faith’ that led it to these purchases, instead of gallantly recognizing that its actions were opportunistic and encouraged dispossession. It should ask for forgiveness.”</p>
<p>After all, “<strong>Montes de María was not a wasteland in need of corporate colonization as was said in certain circles in Medellín. It was home to many people who had fought fervently to be there</strong>.”</p>
<p>These are just a few highlights of a <a href="https://www.lasillavacia.com/la-silla-vacia/opinion/articulos-columna/la-buena-fe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">great column</a> about <strong>a chapter of Colombia’s conflict that shows what a lot of the fighting was actually about: the strong taking advantage of a crisis to seize land and wealth from the weak.</strong></p>
<p>The U.S. officials who adhered Washington so closely to the project of Álvaro Uribe and his allies—giving him effusive praise, billions in aid, and even the <a href="https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2009/01/20090113-7.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Medal of Freedom</a>—can claim, too, that they were acting in good faith. But they enabled a good deal of harm.</p>
<p class='tagsline'>Tags: <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=displacement">Displacement</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=human-rights">Human Rights</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=land-tenure">Land Tenure</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=montes-de-maria">Montes de Maria</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=paramilitarism">Paramilitarism</a></p><p style='font-size:75%;'>September 20, 2023</p> </div><!-- .entry-content -->
</article><!-- #post-3748 --> <article id="post-3747" class="c12 post-3747 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates-from-wola tag-civil-military-relations tag-human-rights tag-justice-system tag-putumayo">
<header>
<h2 class="entry-title taggedlink"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/delaying-tactics-threaten-justice-in-march-2022-colombian-military-massacre-case/" rel="bookmark">Delaying Tactics Threaten Justice in March 2022 Colombian Military Massacre Case</a></h2>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2023-09-18">September 18, 2023</time> </div>
</header>
<div class="entry-content">
<p>In March 2022, Colombia’s Army staged an <a href="/what-we-know-about-the-march-28-2022-military-raid-in-putumayo-colombia/">early-morning attack</a> on a large, hung-over gathering of participants in a “community bazaar”—including a few armed-group members, who fired back—in a rural zone of Putumayo, in the country’s south. The soldiers killed several civilians, including a pregnant woman and an Indigenous community leader.</p>
<div class="wp-block-image grayOutline">
<figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/what-we-know-about-the-march-28-2022-military-raid-in-putumayo-colombia/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img decoding="async" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CleanShot-2023-09-18-at-18.01.56.jpg?resize=596%2C480&ssl=1" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-6590"/><noscript><img decoding="async" src="https://i0.wp.com/adamisacson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CleanShot-2023-09-18-at-18.01.56.jpg?resize=596%2C480&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-6590"/></noscript></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><a href="/what-we-know-about-the-march-28-2022-military-raid-in-putumayo-colombia/">A</a><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/what-we-know-about-the-march-28-2022-military-raid-in-putumayo-colombia/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">n April 14, 2022 post to WOLA’s <em>Colombia Peace</em> website</a>.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Top defense officials in the government of President Iván Duque insisted that the troops did nothing wrong and that no human rights or international humanitarian law violations took place. <a href="https://www.elespectador.com/colombia-20/conflicto/militares-disfrazados-de-guerrilleros-y-otras-denuncias-en-el-operativo-militar-en-putumayo/">Colombian</a> journalistic <a href="https://cambiocolombia.com/articulo/justicia/putumayo-anatomia-de-una-matanza">investigations</a> found <a href="https://voragine.co/el-operativo-del-ejercito-manchado-con-sangre-de-civiles/">otherwise</a>.</p>
<p>Colombia’s civilian Chief Prosecutor’s Office (<em>Fiscalía</em>) looked into the case, and agreed with the journalists. The Colombian magazine <em>Cambio</em> <a href="https://cambiocolombia.com/justicia/mataron-civiles-y-manipularon-sus-cuerpos-esta-es-la-conclusion-de-la-fiscalia-sobre-el">reported</a> on August 20:</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>the Prosecutor’s Office deployed an interdisciplinary team that included ballistics experts, forensic doctors, topographers and prosecutors from its Human Rights Unit. The material collected, as <em>CAMBIO</em> was able to verify, reveals that the indigenous governor Pablo Paduro died as a result of a rifle shot by one of the uniformed officers and that <strong>the weapon found near his body was never fired or manipulated by him, but was planted on him with the intention of diverting the investigation</strong>. In addition, there is incontestable evidence: the dead were 11 and the weapons found were 5, so at least 6 of them did not have the means to shoot at the Army.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The prosecutors, though, are being held up by delaying tactics. Defense attorneys for the accused military personnel made a last-minute appeal to have the case heard in Colombia’s military justice system. The military system is meant for disciplinary infractions (“acts of service”), not human rights abuses; when it does get jurisdiction over a crime against civilians, it almost never convicts. For such cases, it is an impunity factory.</p>
<p><em>Cambio</em> explained the legal machinations:</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>The indictment hearing was scheduled for the first days of August, but in an unexpected decision, the 106th judge of Military Criminal Instruction of Puerto Leguízamo [Putumayo] accepted the request of the soldiers’ lawyers and sent the process to the Constitutional Court to resolve a jurisdictional conflict. The judge’s decision has been criticized because a month after the operation, in May 2022, the same Military Criminal Court sent the process to the Prosecutor’s Office, arguing that the possible human rights violations could not be considered acts of service.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Constitutional Court has yet to decide whether the Alto Remanso massacre case will go to the military justice system, where justice is unlikely, or the civilian system, where prosecutors and investigators have done thorough work and are ready to go. Colleagues at Human Rights Watch <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/09/18/colombia-ensure-justice-army-killings">just sent an amicus brief</a> to the Constitutional Court asking it to slap down the military attorneys’ gambit, and move the case back to the civilian justice system.</p>
<p>The military attorneys may be happy just to run out the clock. <em>Cambio</em> warns, “For now, the legal process is suspended and waiting for the Constitutional Court to define the conflict of competences. The clock is ticking, and the ghost of the statute of limitations’ expiration is haunting the investigators’ work.”</p>
<p>The Constitutional Court must act quickly.</p>
<p class='tagsline'>Tags: <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=civil-military-relations">Civil-Military Relations</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=human-rights">Human Rights</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=justice-system">Justice System</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=putumayo">Putumayo</a></p><p style='font-size:75%;'>September 18, 2023</p> </div><!-- .entry-content -->
</article><!-- #post-3747 --> <article id="post-3744" class="c12 post-3744 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates-from-wola tag-civil-military-relations tag-false-positives tag-human-rights tag-jep tag-transitional-justice">
<header>
<h2 class="entry-title taggedlink"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/former-commander-of-colombian-army-indicted-for-war-crimes/" rel="bookmark">Former Commander of Colombian Army Indicted for War Crimes</a></h2>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2023-09-01">September 1, 2023</time> </div>
</header>
<div class="entry-content">
<p>On August 30, Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace’s Truth Recognition Chamber <a href="https://www.jep.gov.co/Sala-de-Prensa/Paginas/jep-imputa-crimenes-de-guerra-y-lesa-humanidad-al-general-r-mario-montoya-y-ocho-militares-mas-por-130-falsos-positivos-en-.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">indicted</a> the former commander of the army from 2002 until 2006, Mario Montoya, for his responsibility in the extrajudicial killings of 130 civilians. The crimes took place when he commanded the IV Brigade based in Medellin, Antioquia. The entity pointed out that Mr. Montoya lied about the number of persons killed, covered up the extra limitations employed by the forces under his watch and employed disturbing language that glorified this violence. Such language included ordering the units under his command to report their actions in terms of “liters,” “squirts,” “rivers,” “barrels,” or “tanker trucks” of blood. </p>
<p>In February 2021, the peace court <a href="https://www.jep.gov.co/Sala-de-Prensa/Paginas/La-JEP-hace-p%C3%BAblica-la-estrategia-de-priorizaci%C3%B3n-dentro-del-Caso-03,-conocido-como-el-de-falsos-positivos.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">found</a> that between 2002 and 2008 6,402 civilians were extrajudicially killed by the armed forces of Colombia. This macro-criminal practice of assassinations and forced disappearances led to the illegitimate presentation of guerillas killed in combat. For years, victims’ families of the extrajudicially killed and forcibly disappeared have lived with the pain and torture of these crimes and in many cases reprisals and death threats for seeking justice for their loved ones. Over the years, high officials of the Colombian governments have diminished and denied these crimes. </p>
<p>As WOLA, we welcome the JEP’s indictment with the hope that this helps to guarantee non-repetition of such crimes and provides some solace to the victims’ families. During this time the U.S. provided Colombia with <a href="/u-s-aid-to-colombia/">at least $3.8 billion</a> in military assistance. We therefore call upon U.S. authorities to cooperate fully with any information requests from the JEP, including declassifying relevant information for the role that U.S. funding and training to the Colombian armed forces played in these murders. </p>
<p class='tagsline'>Tags: <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=civil-military-relations">Civil-Military Relations</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=false-positives">False Positives</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=human-rights">Human Rights</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=jep">JEP</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=transitional-justice">Transitional Justice</a></p><p style='font-size:75%;'>September 1, 2023</p> </div><!-- .entry-content -->
</article><!-- #post-3744 --> <article id="post-3732" class="c12 post-3732 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates-from-wola tag-demobilization-disarmament-and-reintegration tag-human-rights tag-human-rights-defenders">
<header>
<h2 class="entry-title taggedlink"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/in-colombia-attacks-on-human-rights-defenders-social-leaders-and-ex-combatants-are-gradually-declining/" rel="bookmark">In Colombia, attacks on human rights defenders, social leaders, and ex-combatants are gradually declining</a></h2>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2023-07-25">July 25, 2023</time> </div>
</header>
<div class="entry-content">
<p>Two sources point to a welcome, though still woefully insufficient, decline in the number of human rights defenders and social leaders being killed in Colombia.</p>
<p>During the first half of 2023:</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>According to <a href="https://www.defensoria.gov.co/en/web/guest/-/defensor%C3%ADa-del-pueblo-reporta-que-en-el-primer-semestre-del-a%C3%B1o-fueron-asesinados-92-l%C3%ADderes-y-lideresas-sociales-y-personas-defensoras-de-ddhh?redirect=%2Fen%2Fweb%2Fguest%2Fcomunicados%3Fp_p_id%3Dcom_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_teup%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26_com_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_teup_delta%3D5%26p_r_p_resetCur%3Dfalse%26_com_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_teup_cur%3D2">Colombia’s Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office</a> (<em>Defensoría del Pueblo</em>), 92 social leaders and human rights defenders were killed between January and June 2023. That is down 19 percent from the 114 killings that the <em>Defensoría</em> counted between January and June 2022.</li>
<li>According to the count kept by the independent journalism site <a href="https://www.lasillavacia.com/historias/silla-nacional/las-caras-de-los-77-lideres-sociales-asesinados-en-lo-que-va-de-2023/"><em>La Silla Vacía</em></a>, 77 social leaders were murdered in the first six months of 2023. That is down 25 percent from the first half of 2022.</li>
</ul>
<p>The United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, which produces quarterly reports on implementation of aspects of the 2016 peace accord, also found a downward trend in murders of demobilized former members of the FARC guerrilla group. In its <a href="https://colombia.unmissions.org/en/secretary-general-acknowledges-progress-implementation-peace-agreement-and-highlights-emphasis">latest report</a>, the Mission counts 18 ex-combatants killed between January 1 and June 26, 2023, roughly 30 percent behind the pace of 2022, and the trend has been declining since 2020.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large grayOutline"><a href="https://colombia.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/infography_reportjun23.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="860" height="279" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x-1024x332.webp?resize=860%2C279&ssl=1" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12@2x-1024x332.webp" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-3733" data-lazy-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=1024%2C332&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=300%2C97&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=768%2C249&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=560%2C182&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=260%2C84&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=160%2C52&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?w=1440&ssl=1 1440w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /><noscript><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="860" height="279" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x-1024x332.webp?resize=860%2C279&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3733" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=1024%2C332&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=300%2C97&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=768%2C249&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=560%2C182&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=260%2C84&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?resize=160%2C52&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CleanShot-2023-07-25-at-13.01.12%402x.webp?w=1440&ssl=1 1440w" sizes="(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /></noscript></a></figure>
<p>This is all good news, though Colombia is still far from zero.</p>
<p>Why is it happening? Some credit may go to the nearly year-old government of Gustavo Petro, which has extended many of the country’s armed groups an opportunity to negotiate peace or demobilization, which gives them an incentive to improve their behavior toward non-combatants.</p>
<p>In the case of attacks on former FARC combatants, the demobilization process happened six years ago now, so “people just getting on with their lives” is something of a factor. Still, the UN warns that “persisting violence continues to jeopardize the process.” Indeed, imminent threats from FARC “dissidents” is forcing the relocation of sites for demobilized guerrillas in <a href="https://www.elespectador.com/colombia-20/conflicto/por-amenazas-de-disidencias-se-cumplio-traslado-de-excombatientes-desde-vista-hermosa-meta/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vistahermosa</a> and <a href="https://www.elespectador.com/colombia-20/paz-y-memoria/presidente-gustavoo-petro-visita-etcr-en-mesetas-meta-que-fue-amenazado-por-las-disidencias-de-las-farc/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mesetas</a>, Meta, a few hours’ drive south of Bogotá.</p>
<p class='tagsline'>Tags: <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=demobilization-disarmament-and-reintegration">Demobilization Disarmament and Reintegration</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=human-rights">Human Rights</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=human-rights-defenders">Human Rights Defenders</a></p><p style='font-size:75%;'>July 25, 2023</p> </div><!-- .entry-content -->
</article><!-- #post-3732 --> <article id="post-3671" class="c12 post-3671 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates-from-wola tag-politics-and-security">
<header>
<h2 class="entry-title taggedlink"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/how-colombias-lopsided-approach-to-security-makes-colombians-less-safe/" rel="bookmark">How Colombia’s lopsided approach to security makes Colombians less safe</a></h2>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2022-09-30">September 30, 2022</time> </div>
</header>
<div class="entry-content">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large grayOutline"><a href="https://razonpublica.com/pasar-del-gasto-defensa-la-seguridad-los-colombianos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="860" height="377" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37-1024x449.jpg?resize=860%2C377&ssl=1" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37-1024x449.jpg" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-3672" data-lazy-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=1024%2C449&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=300%2C131&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=768%2C336&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=560%2C245&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=260%2C114&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=160%2C70&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?w=1452&ssl=1 1452w" data-lazy-sizes="(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /><noscript><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" width="860" height="377" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37-1024x449.jpg?resize=860%2C377&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3672" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=1024%2C449&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=300%2C131&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=768%2C336&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=560%2C245&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=260%2C114&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?resize=160%2C70&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/CleanShot-2022-09-30-at-13.25.37.jpg?w=1452&ssl=1 1452w" sizes="(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /></noscript></a></figure>
<p>Below is the original English of an article that WOLA’s Adam Isacson wrote for the Colombian analysis website <em>Razón Pública</em>, which <a href="https://razonpublica.com/pasar-del-gasto-defensa-la-seguridad-los-colombianos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published it on September 19</a>. The editors were seeking an explanation for the persistently high levels of violence and insecurity that Colombia faces, despite maintaining some of the region’s largest security forces and outspending its neighbors on security.</p>
<p>The answer, Isacson argues, lies mainly in Colombia’s unbalanced approach: if one envisions an entire “security sector,” Colombia has really only developed a part of it: the part that carries guns and wears uniforms.</p>
<p>The English text follows:</p>
<p>Colombia invests robustly in its military, police, and intelligence forces. But it doesn’t invest enough in the security of its citizens. The distinction is important, because the results are tragically evident.</p>
<p>Colombia’s 2023 budget will include about 48 trillion pesos for its Defense Ministry. That’s about 12 percent of the General Budget of the Republic, and just a bit less than 4 percent of Colombia’s gross domestic product.</p>
<p>That is a lot of money. <a href="https://datos.bancomundial.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?most_recent_value_desc=true">This World Bank page</a> sorts 165 countries in the world for which data exists by percentage of GDP spent on “gasto militar,” from most to least. Scroll down from the top, and Colombia (3.38 percent in 2020) is the first country in the Americas to appear on the list. After the United States, Colombia has the largest Army and the second-largest armed forces in the Western Hemisphere.</p>
<p>Despite that, Colombia is no more secure than its neighbors. According to the annual <a href="https://es.insightcrime.org/noticias/balance-insight-crime-homicidios-2021/">“round-up”</a> of homicide rates compiled by InsightCrime, Colombia had the Americas’ sixth-highest rate in 2021 (26.8 per 100,000 inhabitants; 27.7 <a href="http://adamisacson.com/files/2022-08-00_Logros_Sector_Defensa.pdf">according</a> to the Defense Ministry), similar to that of Mexico, significantly higher than Brazil, El Salvador, and Guatemala, and far higher than Chile or Peru. If Colombia were a major city in the United States—a country with its own violent crime crisis—the entire country would be <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/murder-map-deadliest-u-s-cities/57/">approximately</a> in tenth place, well ahead of Chicago or Washington.</p>
<p>The government of Iván Duque left security trends moving in the wrong direction. It put most of its energy into taking down “high value targets” or cabecillas of armed groups, and killed or captured many. But <a href="http://adamisacson.com/files/2022-08-00_Logros_Sector_Defensa.pdf">between</a> 2017 and 2021, homicides increased 15 percent, massacres and massacre victims more than doubled, and victims of mass internal displacements <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/colombia/colombia-panorama-de-las-necesidades-humanitarias-2022-febrero-2022">increased</a> 322 percent. Colombia remains the world’s most dangerous country in which to be a <a href="https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/resource-publication/global-analysis-2021-0">human rights</a> or <a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/last-line-defence/">environmental</a> defender. The first six weeks of Gustavo Petro’s government has been similarly dire, with 18 massacres and the senseless <a href="https://www.pares.com.co/post/primera-prueba-para-la-paz-total">killing</a> of 8 police officers in San Luis, Huila.</p>
<p>What explains this mismatch between robust security expenditure and rampant insecurity? The answer lies in the lopsided and unbalanced nature of Colombia’s security investments. This expresses itself in two broad ways.</p>
<p>First, too much remains undone in <strong>addressing the Colombian state’s remarkable weakness in much of national territory</strong>, from the agricultural frontier to poor urban neighborhoods. The problem of state absence and territorial abandonment is historic, chronic, and covered well elsewhere. But efforts to address it remain slow and underfunded.</p>
<p>Six years ago, the FARC-government peace accord included an ambitious plan to address the state’s historic absence and begin providing public goods where almost none exist. Chapter 1 of this document (“comprehensive rural reform”) sought to increase state presence in neglected rural areas through Territorially Focused Development Programs (PDETs), sectoral investment plans, a multipurpose cadaster, a Lands Fund, and other initiatives.</p>
<p>Frustratingly, implementation of this chapter is running badly behind. The July <a href="https://www.juanitaenelcongreso.com/post/no-enreden-la-paz-seguimiento-a-la-implementacion-del-acuerdo-de-paz">report</a> by a group of legislators monitoring accord implementation found that the Duque government met just 1.2 percent of what should be done each year to meet commitments for land distribution through the Lands Fund, 13.1 percent of yearly targets for land formalization, 51.7 percent of targets for the cadaster, and—most troublingly—only 37.3 percent of resources needed to implement the PDETs and stabilize state presence in territory.</p>
<p>The Petro government’s pledges to revive peace accord implementation are encouraging, and the ongoing <a href="https://www.lasillavacia.com/historias/silla-nacional/la-apuesta-triple-de-los-dialogos-regionales-de-petro-paz-pnd-y-votos-en-2023/">regional dialogues</a> are a step in the right direction. But much remains to be done to build state presence in ungoverned areas, as the situation has improved little in the six years since the FARC left the scene.</p>
<p>Second, <strong>Colombia has focused heavily on strengthening its security forces, but insufficiently on strengthening its security <em>sector</em>.</strong> If one regards “security” as just soldiers, police, and intelligence services, one will fail, ultimately, to enforce laws and protect citizens. What must be built up is a larger sector that requires resources, skilled personnel, independence, protection, and political backing.</p>
<p>Think of this “security sector” as a Parthenon-like building with many pillars, or perhaps as a shape made up of concentric layers.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large grayOutline"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?ssl=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="860" height="484" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002-1024x576.jpeg?resize=860%2C484&ssl=1" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002-1024x576.jpeg" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-3673" data-lazy-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=1536%2C864&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=260%2C146&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=160%2C90&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?w=1720 1720w" data-lazy-sizes="auto, (max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /><noscript><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="860" height="484" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002-1024x576.jpeg?resize=860%2C484&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3673" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=1536%2C864&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=260%2C146&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?resize=160%2C90&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-16_sector_seguridad.002.jpeg?w=1720 1720w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /></noscript></a></figure>
<p>The innermost layer is what most people think about when they envision “security”: highly trained people who are the only individuals in society authorized to use force or—with judicial authorization—to infringe civil liberties. They include soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, special operations forces, police, detectives, spies, and similar.</p>
<p>This is the part of its security sector on which Colombia has invested the most: the uniformed part of its Defense Ministry. Even here, though, there are serious unmet needs, like rural policing, rapid response capacity, de-escalatory crowd control, and other aspects of citizen protection. These get de-proritized in favor of forced coca eradication, “high-value targeting,” aerial bombardments, and other actions emblematic of the previous government’s focus on what it called “símbolos del mal.”</p>
<p>The next layer out consists of civilians charged with day-to-day management of these institutions. These are officials in the defense and public security ministries, ideally a solid core of people who understand threat analysis, planning, defense budget management, rules of evidence and police procedure, human rights, and similar. These institutions also include independent inspectors-general, who handle internal affairs and charges of misconduct, and who alert and accompany judicial authorities when personnel violate laws, engage in corruption, or abuse human rights.</p>
<p>Colombia has had civilian defense ministers for more than 30 years, and mayors share command over police, though in a sometimes confusing fashion. Still, it is hard to argue that Colombia has installed strong capacity and expertise within the civilian part of the state to manage defense issues, which remain largely left up to men (specifically, men) in uniform. Inspectors-general have faced intense institutional pressure during the times when they have truly sought to fulfill their offices’ mission.</p>
<p>The next layer out is another branch of government: judicial authorities, who are there to hold the security forces criminally accountable when necessary, but are especially central to investigating and punishing all criminal activity that threatens’ citizens’ safety. They include prosecutors, judges, investigators and detectives, and the prison system (or, where appropriate, those administering non-carceral alternatives).</p>
<p>It is plain that Colombia does not invest sufficiently in this layer of its security sector. One can tell from the length of time it takes to close a criminal case in Colombia, the low percentage of serious crimes that go unsolved or even un-denounced, large pre-trial population detained in prisons, and the INPEC’s well-documented shortcomings.</p>
<p>The next layer out are institutions elsewhere in the state that carry out monitoring, oversight, and budgetary control. Parliaments have committees that appropriate funds, specify priority programs, and carry out oversight, inquiring about decisionmaking or wrongdoing. The people’s representatives need to ask questions about the security sector’s management, and they need permanent staff with the experience and expertise necessary to get answers to those questions.</p>
<p>Comptrollers and auditors must be able to evaluate expenses; detect waste, fraud, and abuse; and accumulate data to evaluate whether policies are achieving their stated goals and make recommendations. Procurators and ombudsmen must be able to weigh policies’ impact on populations’ rights and security, publishing rigorous reports and, in some cases, issuing administrative sanctions.</p>
<p>While this author hasn’t studied in depth these institutions’ oversight efforts in Colombia, media reports and conversations leave the strong impression that the Congress, the Contraloría, the Procuraduría, and the Defensoría could be carrying out much more aggressive oversight of security institutions than they do.</p>
<p>Finally, the outermost layer is those who contribute to the policymaking process, and who carry out energetic independent oversight, from outside the state. These include independent journalists who cover defense and security issues, credible NGOs, human rights defenders, drug policy advocates, environmental defenders, legal experts, retired officials, university departments, and other experts and analysts.</p>
<p>Colombia does have one of Latin America’s most robust and effective communities of independent journalists, and a vibrant, if threatened, civil society. It has, though, only a few non-governmental “think tanks” or other organizations that specialize in security policy. And only a few of those engage regularly with that innermost layer, the military, police, and intelligence services.</p>
<p>The weakness or absence of so many elements described here explains the persistence of insecurity in Colombia. Without all of its pillars strong, the building falls down. Without its layers fully developed, the shape distorts and diminishes.</p>
<p>Colombia may invest more than virtually all of its neighbors in security and defense, but it starves much of its security sector. The brigades may be muscular and the weapons may be modern. But the judicial system can barely manage cases, leaving a very high probability of impunity for those who commit crimes. Oversight is weak. Outside expertise is thin. The corruption that enables much organized crime festers. And vast stretches of Colombia’s national territory remain barely governed.</p>
<p>Right now, Colombia is approving its 2023 General Budget of the Nation. The new Petro administration is putting together its National Development Plan. As they face today’s deteriorating security situation, decision-makers must ask, before spending each scarce peso, will it go to protecting citizens? Will it improve state presence and provide public goods equitably? Will it help build a balanced, functioning security sector?</p>
<p>For items like forced coca eradication, fighter jets to deter imagined foreign adversaries, or “high value target” campaigns that do little more than cause armed groups to fragment, the answer is a resounding “no.” For the new government, the way forward is elsewhere.</p>
<p class='tagsline'>Tags: <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=politics-and-security">Politics and Security</a></p><p style='font-size:75%;'>September 30, 2022</p> </div><!-- .entry-content -->
</article><!-- #post-3671 --> <article id="post-3661" class="c12 post-3661 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates-from-wola tag-budget tag-corruption tag-implementation tag-stabilization">
<header>
<h2 class="entry-title taggedlink"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/qa-a-corruption-scandal-undermines-colombias-peace-accord-implementation/" rel="bookmark">Q&A: A Corruption Scandal Undermines Colombia’s Peace Accord Implementation</a></h2>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2022-08-16">August 16, 2022</time> </div>
</header>
<div class="entry-content">
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?ssl=1"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="700" height="350" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C350&ssl=1" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-3663" data-lazy-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?w=700&ssl=1 700w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?resize=300%2C150&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?resize=560%2C280&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?resize=260%2C130&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?resize=160%2C80&ssl=1 160w" data-lazy-sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /><noscript><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="700" height="350" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C350&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3663" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?w=700&ssl=1 700w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?resize=300%2C150&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?resize=560%2C280&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?resize=260%2C130&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2019_11_01_Avances_PDET-web-1.jpeg?resize=160%2C80&ssl=1 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /></noscript></a><figcaption><a href="https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/-/funci-c3-b3n-p-c3-bablica-presenta-balance-del-fortalecimiento-de-la-gesti-c3-b3n-p-c3-bablica-para-la-paz-en-el-pacto-por-los-pdet" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Photo from funcionpublica.gov.co</a>.</figcaption></figure></div>
<p>Corrupt officials in Colombia allegedly abused their positions to steal hundreds of millions of dollars in peace accord implementation funds, which were meant for some of the country’s poorest, most violent, and least governed territories. Their actions, documented in 2021 but likely occurring earlier, have undermined one of the most important commitments in Colombia’s fragile peace process: better governance in conflictive rural areas.</p>
<p><strong>All involved did harm to a priority vital to any who share an interest in helping Colombia improve security and diminish illicit economies. They must be held accountable.</strong></p>
<p>The so-called “OCAD Paz” scandal came to light thanks to a six-month <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bluradio.com/noticias/recursos-de-la-paz" rel="noopener">investigation</a> by journalists at the Colombian outlet <em>Blu Radio</em>.. Here’s an overview of what they found, what has happened since, and what it means for Colombia’s peace process as a new government takes over in Bogotá.</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What is the OCAD Paz program?</strong></h3>
<p>The Colombian government’s budget is not funded entirely from taxes. Royalties collected from oil and mining companies make up very roughly five percent of central government income, a figure that varies with commodity prices. A 2012 reform created “Collegial Administrative Bodies” (<em>Órganos Colegiados de Administración</em>, OCAD) to administer these funds.</p>
<p>The 2016 peace accord with the FARC guerrilla group (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, <em>Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia</em>) committed Colombia to carrying out dozens of promised efforts with an estimated total <a href="https://www.wola.org/analysis/a-long-way-to-go-implementing-colombias-peace-accord-after-five-years/#id.tz7gxabatwke" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cost</a> of about $41 or 42 billion over 15 years. About 85 percent of that would go to implement the peace accord’s first chapter, “Comprehensive Rural Reform.”</p>
<p>In 2018, Colombia’s government set up a subset of the OCAD, known as “ <a target="_blank" href="https://www.minhacienda.gov.co/webcenter/portal/SGR/pages_ocadpaz" rel="noopener">OCAD Paz</a>,” to channel some royalty funds into meeting these rural reform commitments. Though a critic of the 2016 peace accord, President Iván Duque (August 7, 2018-August 7, 2022) rhetorically supported the accord’s rural reform chapter. From 2019 to 2021, his government channeled about 6.6 trillion Colombian pesos (about $1.5 billion) to the OCAD Paz.</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What was the OCAD Paz money meant to pay for?</strong></h3>
<p>The 2016 accord’s rural reform provisions aim to achieve a longstanding goal: to bring the government into long-abandoned agricultural frontier areas where armed groups thrive and farmers grow illicit crops. While the Duque government didn’t give the “rural reform” chapter all of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wola.org/analysis/a-long-way-to-go-implementing-colombias-peace-accord-after-five-years/#id.mjjxyma1f1j0" rel="noopener">resources</a> it needed, it did increase rural development funding.</p>
<p>In particular, OCAD Paz funds supported “Territorially Focused Development Programs” (<em>Programas de Desarrollo con Enfoque Territorial</em>, PDETs), a crucial feature of the 2016 accord. The PDETs are 15-year plans to bring government presence and services into the most conflictive and ungoverned 170 of Colombia’s 1,100 municipalities (counties), covering 36 percent of national territory and 13 percent of the population.</p>
<p>These areas suffer from chronic statelessness. Roads and formal land titles are rare. Disputes tend to get settled informally or by armed groups. These 170 municipalities <a target="_blank" href="https://colaboracion.dnp.gov.co/CDT/Poltica%20de%20Vctimas/Construcci%C3%B3n%20de%20Paz/Caracterizaci%C3%B3n%20PDET.pdf" rel="noopener">contained</a> 94 percent of Colombia’s coca crop when the program started. Some areas are so far from government presence that currency is hard to come by, and stores allow customers to weigh coca paste on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/26/world/americas/colombia-peace-deal-farc.html" rel="noopener">scales</a> to pay for goods.</p>
<p>The PDETs, along with the FARC’s exit from the conflict, offered a crucial opportunity to address this chronic statelessness. But they would be expensive. The OCAD Paz funds were a critical part of the response.</p>
<p>In 2021, as part of an effort to fund the COVID-19 pandemic recovery, the government and opposition agreed on a legal provision <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lasillavacia.com/historias/silla-nacional/el-escandalo-de-ocad-paz-en-que-consiste-que-evidencia-hay-y-que-huecos-tiene/" rel="noopener">allowing</a> expenditure of future years’ OCAD Paz money. The program’s budget <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elespectador.com/judicial/las-alertas-que-recibio-el-gobierno-de-la-posible-corrupcion-en-el-ocad-paz/" rel="noopener">jumped</a> from just over 1 trillion pesos ($225 million) in 2019 and in 2020, to 4.4 trillion pesos (about $1 billion) in 2021.</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What did the journalists find?</strong></h3>
<p>With that, “corrupt people smelled blood in the water,” <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-1iSzCnnXo" rel="noopener">say</a> <em>Blu Radio</em> reporters Valeria Santos and Sebastián Nohra. Over their 6-month <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bluradio.com/noticias/recursos-de-la-paz" rel="noopener">investigation</a>, they spoke to 25 mayors of PDET municipalities who found corrupt central government gatekeepers standing in the way of OCAD Paz funding for infrastructure and other projects in their territories.</p>
<p>Those gatekeepers were in the Presidency’s National Planning Department (<em>Departamento Nacional de Planeación</em>, DNP), which administers OCAD Paz. Some were in the national Comptroller’s Office (<em>Contraloría</em>), an auditing body that signs off on these expenditures. Some were members of Colombia’s Congress serving as “godfathers” shepherding the funding projects through the approval process.</p>
<p>All told, <strong>Santos and Nohra</strong> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lasillavacia.com/historias/silla-nacional/el-escandalo-de-ocad-paz-en-que-consiste-que-evidencia-hay-y-que-huecos-tiene/" rel="noopener"><strong> </strong></a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lasillavacia.com/historias/silla-nacional/el-escandalo-de-ocad-paz-en-que-consiste-que-evidencia-hay-y-que-huecos-tiene/" rel="noopener"><strong>very roughly</strong></a><strong> estimate that about 12 percent of 2021 OCAD Paz resources, perhaps 500 billion pesos ($115 million) meant for about 355 of the peace accords’ vital PDET infrastructure projects, was lost to bribes and kickbacks.</strong></p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>How did the corrupt officials allegedly steal the money?</strong></h3>
<p>The DNP and Comptroller roles in approving OCAD Paz grants created an unfortunate opportunity for unethical officials to serve as gatekeepers, holding PDET funding hostage until they paid bribes or kickbacks. Without bribes, projects stalled or were canceled. The Colombian investigative website <em>La Silla Vacía</em> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lasillavacia.com/historias/silla-nacional/el-escandalo-de-ocad-paz-en-que-consiste-que-evidencia-hay-y-que-huecos-tiene/" rel="noopener">summarized</a> the <em>Blu Radio</em> findings succinctly:</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>25 mayors…denounced off the record that in order to obtain the approval of a project in the OCAD Paz they had to pay several bribes: between 1 and 2 percent to officials of the Comptroller’s Office, who although they only exercise “preventive” control in the OCAD generated alerts that were enough for a project not to proceed; 5 or 6 percent to Álvaro Ávila, director of the General Royalties System [within the DNP], technical secretary of the Ocad Paz, appointed by then-DNP director Luis Alberto Rodríguez; and between 7 and 9 percent to the congressman who “sponsored” the project. They specifically mentioned Ape Cuello and Samy Merheg.</p></blockquote>
<p>Cuello and Merheg are members of Colombia’s Conservative Party. They, along with Conservative Rep. Wadith Manzur, are now under investigation by Colombia’s Supreme Court. Others frequently <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/investigacion/fiscalia-cita-a-emilio-archila-en-caso-por-supuesto-robo-a-recursos-de-paz-684868" rel="noopener">mentioned</a> in press coverage of the scandal are former top Comptroller’s Office officials Juan Carlos Gualdrón, who oversaw post-conflict issues, and Aníbal Quiroz, who oversaw royalties.</p>
<p>Together with Gualdrón and Quiroz, <em>El Espectador</em> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elespectador.com/politica/la-contraloria-sobre-la-corrupcion-y-la-paz/" rel="noopener">explained</a>, Ávila, the Planning Department’s royalties chief, “pressured officials of the Ministry of Transportation to withdraw approval from more than half of the tertiary road projects already approved for different municipalities.”</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What was the Duque government’s response?</strong></h3>
<p>All of the above officials have denied requesting or receiving bribes or kickbacks to allow PDET projects to go forward using OCAD Paz money. The Duque government’s final DNP director, who was not in her position when most of the alleged corruption occurred, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elespectador.com/judicial/no-hay-una-prueba-dnp-archivo-denuncias-de-saqueo-a-ocad-paz/" rel="noopener">said</a> that she looked into the allegations going back to August 2021 and, finding no proof, shelved internal investigations.</p>
<p>The Duque presidency’s top official for peace accord rural reform implementation, former presidential counselor for stabilization and consolidation Emilio Archila, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elespectador.com/judicial/las-alertas-que-recibio-el-gobierno-de-la-posible-corrupcion-en-el-ocad-paz/" rel="noopener">said</a> that he had heard these allegations as well, and had e-mailed information to the Colombian government’s Prosecutor-General’s Office (<em>Fiscalía</em>). Archila’s e-mails, though, did not constitute a formal complaint. “We find it hard to understand,” reads an <em>El Espectador</em> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elespectador.com/opinion/editorial/saqueo-a-los-recursos-de-la-paz-y-todos-muy-tranquilos/" rel="noopener">editorial</a>, “why, if these allegations existed and Archila considered them of sufficient importance to forward them to the authorities, the government itself has not given more impetus to the investigations.”</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What investigations are underway?</strong></h3>
<p>At least three investigations are now ongoing.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The <em>Fiscalía</em> is looking into the OCAD Paz allegations; in early July, investigators <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/investigacion/fiscalia-cita-a-emilio-archila-en-caso-por-supuesto-robo-a-recursos-de-paz-684868" rel="noopener">brought</a> Archila in for questioning about what he knew. (Archila, who often served as the face of peace accord implementation within the Duque government, is not suspected of wrongdoing in this case.)</li><li>Colombia’s Internal Affairs Office (<em>Procuraduría</em>), which administers administrative investigations and punishments, has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elespectador.com/judicial/caso-ocad-paz-procuraduria-adelanta-24-indagaciones-e-investigaciones/" rel="noopener">opened</a> 24 disciplinary proceedings connected to the case, covering 13 of Colombia’s 32 departments (provinces).</li><li>As noted above, Colombia’s Supreme Court has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elespectador.com/judicial/ocad-paz-corte-suprema-abre-investigacion-a-tres-congresistas-conservadores/" rel="noopener">opened</a> preliminary investigations against three Conservative Party members of Congress.</li><li>Colombia’s Congress may <a target="_blank" href="https://www.semana.com/politica/articulo/citaran-primer-debate-de-control-politico-en-el-senado-por-supuesto-desfalco-de-los-ocad-paz/202233/" rel="noopener">carry out</a> a political oversight debate, but that has not happened yet.</li></ul>
<p>With the exception of the congressional action, these investigations are likely to take many months.</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Is this the only scandal involving corrupt management of rural peace accord funds?</strong></h3>
<p>No, there are others.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>In Chocó, Colombia’s poorest department, a local political boss—a former congressman who served prison time for working with paramilitary groups— <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elespectador.com/investigacion/edgar-torres-el-parapolitico-que-prometio-dineros-de-la-paz-para-apoyar-a-su-hijo/" rel="noopener">offered</a> a lawyer (himself the brother of a former paramilitary leader) “several projects in PDET municipalities” in exchange for a loan to his son’s congressional campaign. The lawyer turned him down flat. (Edgar Ulises Torres’ son failed to win election in March, winning just 2 percent of the vote.)</li><li>In the Caribbean department of Cesar, Ávila, the former DNP royalties chief, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eltiempo.com/unidad-investigativa/recursos-de-paz-poderosos-exfuncionarios-en-reportes-de-supuesto-saqueo-685983" rel="noopener">appeared</a> in an anonymous complaint regarding major contracting irregularities in a multi-million-dollar solar panel <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elespectador.com/colombia-20/paz-y-memoria/proyecto-ocad-paz-sobre-paneles-solares-en-becerril-cesar-tiene-contratistas-investigados-por-contraloria/" rel="noopener">project</a>.</li><li>In Valle del Cauca, the Pacific department whose capital is Cali, more than US$100 million in OCAD Paz funds for PDET municipalities ended up being <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lasillavacia.com/historias/silla-nacional/plata-de-la-paz-se-entrego-en-una-feria-de-contratos/" rel="noopener">administered</a> by a body run by the governor’s political machine, which mostly handed out no-bid contracts.</li></ul>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Why is this scandal particularly harmful to U.S. and international community interests in Colombia?</strong></h3>
<p>The U.S. government and Colombia’s other international donors have invested heavily in implementing the 2016 peace accord, including its promise of undoing the lack of government presence in the country’s rural areas. That state-building effort, foreseen in the accord’s “rural reform” chapter, required Colombia’s government to move fast, filling vacuums left by the FARC before other armed groups could move in.</p>
<p>Colombia has mostly failed to do that—and now a corruption scandal provides a compelling argument for more safeguards and red tape, which would slow the implementation process even further.</p>
<p>Government presence and services in PDET zones offer the greatest hope for denying territory to organized crime, armed groups, and illicit economies, from coca to illegal logging to wildcat mining. <strong>The OCAD Paz scandal shows that hope being undermined by corruption of the most vulgar sort</strong>: the kind that robs resources from the poorest and most violence-wracked Colombians.</p>
<p>This is exactly the kind of behavior that the peace accord sought to undo, by empowering social leaders, increasing community participation in the PDETs and similar development programs, and establishing strong oversight bodies. All of these efforts flagged badly during the Duque government.</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The Petro government must ensure accountability</strong></h3>
<p>It is now up to the new government of President Gustavo Petro to restore trust in the peace accord implementation process. <strong>WOLA urges the Petro government to give the OCAD Paz investigations the resources and high-level political backing that they require. We urge Colombia’s Congress to move forward with oversight hearings.</strong></p>
<p>Since the scandal involves the new government’s political opponents, much of that is likely to happen. However, the facts may at times lead investigators to people whose political support could be needed to achieve other priorities. (The Conservative Party’s legislators, for instance, are up for grabs, having <a target="_blank" href="https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/conservadores-ratifican-que-no-haran-oposicion-a-gustavo-petro-y-entraran-al-denominado-acuerdo-nacional/202204/" rel="noopener">decided</a> not to join the opposition bloc in Colombia’s Congress.) The Petro government must ensure that those responsible for the OCAD Paz scandal face consequences, regardless of where the investigation leads.</p>
<p><strong>WOLA encourages U.S. diplomats to make clear, in all appropriate ways, that those investigating this scandal have Washington’s full political support, and that the U.S. government continues to support the PDETs and other rural reform efforts within the peace accord.</strong></p>
<p>Finally, WOLA urges Colombian authorities to provide any necessary protection to Santos and Nohra, the reporters who broke the OCAD Paz story. In mid-July, Nohra <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elespectador.com/judicial/investigaran-amenazas-a-sebastian-nohra-periodista-que-revelo-desfalco-a-ocad-paz/" rel="noopener">reported</a> receiving threatening phone calls.</p>
<p class='tagsline'>Tags: <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=budget">Budget</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=corruption">Corruption</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=implementation">Implementation</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=stabilization">Stabilization</a></p><p style='font-size:75%;'>August 16, 2022</p> </div><!-- .entry-content -->
</article><!-- #post-3661 --> <article id="post-3630" class="c12 post-3630 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates-from-wola tag-audio tag-elections tag-podcast tag-politics-and-security tag-politics-of-peace tag-u-s-policy">
<header>
<h2 class="entry-title taggedlink"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/wola-podcast-what-happens-with-the-petro-government-could-become-a-model-for-engaging-with-the-region/" rel="bookmark">WOLA Podcast: “What happens with the Petro government could become a model for engaging with the region”</a></h2>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2022-07-11">July 11, 2022</time> </div>
</header>
<div class="entry-content">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large grayOutline"><a href="https://www.wola.org/analysis/what-happens-with-the-petro-government-could-become-a-model-for-engaging-with-the-region/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="860" height="376" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29-1024x448.jpg?resize=860%2C376&ssl=1" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29-1024x448.jpg" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-3631" data-lazy-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=1024%2C448&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=300%2C131&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=768%2C336&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=560%2C245&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=260%2C114&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=160%2C70&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?w=1399&ssl=1 1399w" data-lazy-sizes="auto, (max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /><noscript><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="860" height="376" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29-1024x448.jpg?resize=860%2C376&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3631" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=1024%2C448&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=300%2C131&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=768%2C336&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=560%2C245&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=260%2C114&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?resize=160%2C70&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/CleanShot-2022-07-11-at-00.47.29.jpg?w=1399&ssl=1 1399w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /></noscript></a></figure>
<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="lazy lazy-hidden" data-lazy-type="iframe" data-lazy-src="<iframe loading="lazy" title="Embed Player" style="border: medium none;" src="//play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/23703221/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/01b5f0/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward/download/yes" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" width="100%" height="192"></iframe>" alt=""><noscript><iframe loading="lazy" title="Embed Player" style="border: medium none;" src="//play.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/23703221/height/192/theme/modern/size/large/thumbnail/yes/custom-color/01b5f0/time-start/00:00:00/playlist-height/200/direction/backward/download/yes" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" oallowfullscreen="true" msallowfullscreen="true" width="100%" height="192"></iframe></noscript>
<p>Colombia’s June 19 presidential election had a historic result: the first left-of-center government in the country’s modern history. Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla who demobilized over 30 years ago, will be sworn in to the presidency on August 7. His running mate, Afro-Colombian social movement leader and environmental defender Francia Márquez, will be Colombia’s next vice president.</p>
<p>WOLA’s director for the Andes, Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, was in Colombia on election day, and has a lot to share about what she saw and heard. She and host Adam Isacson talk about what made Petro’s victory possible—including high levels of popular discontent. They discuss the political transition so far, the immediate challenges of governability and tax revenue, implications for implementing Colombia’s 2016 peace accord, and hope for greater participation of women, Afro-descendant, Indigenous, and LGBTI Colombians.</p>
<p>The discussion covers areas of potential disagreement with a U.S. government that has long made Colombia its largest aid recipient, including drug policy, trade, and Venezuela policy. Sánchez and Isacson also discuss new areas of potential U.S.-Colombian cooperation, including judicial strengthening and implementation of peace accord commitments that could stabilize long-ungoverned territories.</p>
<p>Links to recent WOLA analysis of Colombia’s elections:</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli <a href="https://theintercept.com/2022/06/24/colombia-elections-gustavo-petro/">interviewed on the <em>Intercept’s</em> “Deconstructed” podcast</a>, June 24.</li><li>“<a href="https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/06/22/a-fresh-start-for-colombia-and-for-us-policy/">A fresh start for Colombia … and for US policy?</a>” by Adam Isacson at <em>Responsible Statecraft</em>, June 22.</li><li>“<a href="https://www.wola.org/analysis/colombia-made-history-us-should-join-it/">Colombia Made History. The U.S. Should Join it</a>,” by Carolina Jiménez Sandoval, June 20.</li><li>“<a href="https://www.wola.org/analysis/colombias-politics-are-changing-dramatically-u-s-policy-must-change-too/">Colombia’s politics are changing dramatically. U.S. policy must change too</a>,” by Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli and Adam Isacson, June 16.</li><li>“<a href="https://www.wola.org/2022/06/while-eyes-focus-on-colombias-presidential-elections-abuses-continue/">While Eyes Focus on Colombia’s Presidential Elections, Abuses Continue</a>,” by Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, June 9.</li><li>“<a href="https://razonpublica.com/colombia-aliado-principal-estados-unidos-significa/">Colombia, ‘aliado principal de Estados Unidos’: ¿qué significa?</a>” by Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli at <em>Razón Pública</em>, June 5.</li><li>“<a href="https://razonpublica.com/sera-la-relacion-del-proximo-presidente-estados-unidos/">¿Cómo será la relación del próximo presidente con Estados Unidos?</a>” by Adam Isacson at <em>Razón Pública</em>, June 5.</li><li>“<a href="https://www.wola.org/analysis/colombia-elections-the-next-president-is-either-going-to-effectively-kill-the-peace-accord-or-save-it/">Colombia Elections: ‘The Next President is Either Going to Effectively Kill the Peace Accord or Save it</a>,” by Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli and Adam Isacson, May 30.</li><li>“<a href="https://www.wola.org/analysis/colombias-high-stakes-presidential-elections-what-you-need-to-know/">Colombia’s High-Stakes Presidential Elections: What You Need to Know</a>,” by Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli, May 25.</li></ul>
<p><a href="https://traffic.libsyn.com/wolapodcast/2022-07-08_podcast.mp3">Download the podcast .mp3 file here</a>. Listen to WOLA’s <em>Latin America Today </em>podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/latin-america-today/id427663720">Apple Podcasts, </a><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4topUIpKGs629gKFMSbkJu">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-wola-podcast-30967023/">iHeartRadio</a>, or wherever you subscribe to podcasts. The <a href="https://wolapodcast.libsyn.com/rss">main feed is here</a>.</p>
<p class='tagsline'>Tags: <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=audio">Audio</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=elections">Elections</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=podcast">Podcast</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=politics-and-security">Politics and Security</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=politics-of-peace">Politics of Peace</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=u-s-policy">U.S. Policy</a></p><p style='font-size:75%;'>July 11, 2022</p> </div><!-- .entry-content -->
</article><!-- #post-3630 --> <article id="post-3592" class="c12 post-3592 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates-from-wola tag-elections tag-politics-and-security tag-u-s-policy tag-wola-statements">
<header>
<h2 class="entry-title taggedlink"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/colombia-elections-the-next-president-is-either-going-to-effectively-kill-the-peace-accord-or-save-it/" rel="bookmark">Colombia Elections: ‘The Next President is Either Going to Effectively Kill the Peace Accord or Save it’</a></h2>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2022-05-30">May 30, 2022</time> </div>
</header>
<div class="entry-content">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large grayOutline"><a href="https://www.wola.org/analysis/colombia-elections-the-next-president-is-either-going-to-effectively-kill-the-peace-accord-or-save-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="860" height="376" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-1024x448.jpg?resize=860%2C376&ssl=1" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19@2x-1024x448.jpg" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-3593" data-lazy-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C448&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C131&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C336&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C672&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C897&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=560%2C245&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=260%2C114&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=160%2C70&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?w=1720 1720w" data-lazy-sizes="auto, (max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /><noscript><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="860" height="376" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-1024x448.jpg?resize=860%2C376&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3593" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C448&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C131&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C336&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C672&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C897&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=560%2C245&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=260%2C114&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?resize=160%2C70&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CleanShot-2022-05-30-at-18.08.19%402x-scaled.jpg?w=1720 1720w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /></noscript></a></figure>
<p>The first round of the Presidential elections in Colombia was marked by the real possibility of a triumph of the political left, a stalemate in the peace process, the proliferation of armed groups, and growing violence.</p>
<p>Gustavo Petro, former senator and former mayor of Bogota, obtained 40 percent of the votes and Rodolfo Hernández, an emerging candidate, came in second with 28 percent. One of the big questions ahead of the second round on June 19 is whether Hernández will be able to capitalize on the 55 percent of voters who did not choose Petro.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.wola.org/analysis/colombia-elections-the-next-president-is-either-going-to-effectively-kill-the-peace-accord-or-save-it/">In this interview</a>, Gimena Sánchez, Director for the Andes at WOLA and Adam Isacson, Director for Defense Oversight at WOLA, discuss the main challenges the new president will face, the risks of electoral violence, and the implications of Colombia’s new political map for the bilateral relationship with the United States.</p>
<p class="has-text-align-center"><a href="https://www.wola.org/analysis/colombia-elections-the-next-president-is-either-going-to-effectively-kill-the-peace-accord-or-save-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read in English at wola.org</a> | <a href="https://www.wola.org/es/analisis/elecciones-en-colombia-el-proximo-presidente-va-a-matar-el-acuerdo-de-paz-o-lo-va-a-salvar/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Leer en español en wola.org</a></p>
<p class='tagsline'>Tags: <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=elections">Elections</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=politics-and-security">Politics and Security</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=u-s-policy">U.S. Policy</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=wola-statements">WOLA Statements</a></p><p style='font-size:75%;'>May 30, 2022</p> </div><!-- .entry-content -->
</article><!-- #post-3592 --> <article id="post-3598" class="c12 post-3598 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-updates-from-wola tag-choco tag-civil-society-peace-movement tag-security-deterioration">
<header>
<h2 class="entry-title taggedlink"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/the-cooperation-space-for-peace-warns-of-deepening-humanitarian-crisis-in-choco-department/" rel="bookmark">The Cooperation Space for Peace Warns of Deepening Humanitarian Crisis in Chocó Department</a></h2>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2022-05-03">May 3, 2022</time> </div>
</header>
<div class="entry-content">
<p>On May 3, the Cooperation Space for Peace (<em>Espacio de Cooperación para la Paz</em>, ECP)—a coalition of civil society organizations of which WOLA forms part of—published a statement about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Chocó department. The organizations who form part of the ECP expressed great dismay to the deteriorating security situation in the department and the lack of institutional state presence in the region. </p>
<p>The ECP expressed solidarity with the ethnic-territorial organizations, churches, and humanitarian agents who, on the ground, have directly verified what is happening in the territories. They call for the use of dialogue to identify and overcome the causes of the situation.</p>
<p>The statement urged the state to implement effective measures to protect the lives of human rights defenders, social leaders, their communities and organizations, and the signatories of the 2016 peace accord, with comprehensive actions that go beyond the militarization of the territories.</p>
<p>Read the original Spanish statement <a href="https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/03052022-Comunicado-Choco.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.<br>Read the unofficial English translation <a href="https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/03052022-Comunicado-Choco-ENGLISH-translation.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.</p>
<p class='tagsline'>Tags: <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=choco">Chocó</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=civil-society-peace-movement">Civil Society Peace Movement</a>, <a href="/category/updates-from-wola/?tag=security-deterioration">Security Deterioration</a></p><p style='font-size:75%;'>May 3, 2022</p> </div><!-- .entry-content -->
</article><!-- #post-3598 --> <article id="post-3560" class="c12 post-3560 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-updates-from-wola tag-civil-military-relations tag-human-rights tag-putumayo">
<header>
<h2 class="entry-title taggedlink"><a href="https://colombiapeace.org/what-we-know-about-the-march-28-2022-military-raid-in-putumayo-colombia/" rel="bookmark">What we know about the March 28, 2022 military raid in Putumayo, Colombia</a></h2>
<div class="entry-meta">
<time class="published" datetime="2022-04-14">April 14, 2022</time> </div>
</header>
<div class="entry-content">
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><a href="https://cambiocolombia.com/articulo/justicia/putumayo-anatomia-de-una-matanza" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="860" height="484" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-1024x576.jpg?resize=860%2C484&ssl=1" data-lazy-type="image" data-lazy-src="https://colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="lazy lazy-hidden wp-image-3563" data-lazy-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=260%2C146&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=160%2C90&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?w=1720 1720w" data-lazy-sizes="auto, (max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /><noscript><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="860" height="484" src="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-1024x576.jpg?resize=860%2C484&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-3563" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C169&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1152&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1 560w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=260%2C146&ssl=1 260w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?resize=160%2C90&ssl=1 160w, https://i0.wp.com/colombiapeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/img_5065-scaled.jpg?w=1720 1720w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" /></noscript></a><figcaption><a href="https://cambiocolombia.com/articulo/justicia/putumayo-anatomia-de-una-matanza" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Photo from <em>Cambio</em></a>.</figcaption></figure></div>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What happened?</strong></h3>
<p><em>The Guardian</em> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/apr/13/colombia-army-raid-putumayo-investigation" rel="noopener">called it</a> a “botched army raid.” An Indigenous group <a target="_blank" href="https://opiac.org.co/noticias/paz-y-pueblos-indigenas/316-denuncia-y-solicitud-de-accion-urgente-de-la-opiac-por-los-homicidios-que-tuvieron-lugar-en-el-municipio-de-puerto-leguizamo-putumayo" rel="noopener">called it</a> a “massacre.” The commander of Colombia’s army <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lasillavacia.com/historias/silla-nacional/los-ingredientes-del-desastre-militar-que-termino-en-una-masacre-en-putumayo/" rel="noopener">insisted</a> that it took place “with strictest observance of human rights and international humanitarian law.”</p>
<p>Early on the morning of March 28, dozens of people were gathered in a communal space in the town of Alto Remanso, near the Ecuador border in Colombia’s southern department of Putumayo. They had been partying all night, the ground littered with beer cans. Speakers were still blasting music. It was the third day of a community “bazaar,” a festival to raise money to pave a nearby stretch of dirt road.</p>
<p>Just after 7:00 AM, shots rang out. Community members say that men dressed in black, shouting “we’re not the security forces,” fired at the gathering. Some people at the bazaar—almost certainly members of an ex-FARC dissident group active in the area—returned fire. Shooting continued for at least an hour and a half. At that point, helicopters arrived, and the townspeople were shocked to find out that the black-clad invaders were Colombian soldiers.</p>
<p>Later that day, Colombian President Iván Duque and Defense Minister Diego Molano <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/IvanDuque/status/1508594000936292366" rel="noopener">posted</a> tweets <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Diego_Molano/status/1508558476943015948" rel="noopener">celebrating</a> the “neutralization” of 11 ex-FARC dissidents, and the arrest of 4 more. The Army said it was a long-planned operation to <a target="_blank" href="https://elpais.com/internacional/2022-04-11/el-ministro-de-defensa-debera-dar-explicaciones-al-congreso-por-la-masacre-del-ejercito-en-putumayo.html" rel="noopener">capture</a> Carlos Emilio Loaiza, alias “Bruno,” a leader of the Comandos de la Frontera, a Putumayo-based armed group that trafficks cocaine. (“Bruno” was not present.) The <em>Comandos</em> are believed affiliated with the “Segunda Marquetalia” network, led by re-armed former FARC guerrillas, which the U.S. State Department <a target="_blank" href="https://www.state.gov/revocation-of-the-terrorist-designations-of-the-revolutionary-armed-forces-of-colombia-farc-and-additional-terrorist-designations/" rel="noopener">added</a> to its list of foreign terrorist organizations last November.</p>
<p>Much remains unclear about the Alto Remanso incident. What we know comes from denunciations by local <a href="https://opiac.org.co/noticias/paz-y-pueblos-indigenas/316-denuncia-y-solicitud-de-accion-urgente-de-la-opiac-por-los-homicidios-que-tuvieron-lugar-en-el-municipio-de-puerto-leguiResolver
Resolver ASN
AS396356
Resolver IP
[scrubbed]
Resolver Network Name
Latitude.sh
Report ID
20250404T154257Z_webconnectivity_CO_396356_n1_koqp2HyDAnzLHsoL
Platform
macos
Software Name
ooniprobe-desktop-unattended (3.24.0)
Measurement Engine
ooniprobe-engine (3.24.0)