Colombia armed groups used peace talks to build strength, military commander says

By Luis Jaime Acosta

Colombia's illegal armed groups have taken advantage of the government's pursuit of peace to strengthen themselves militarily and economically, the commander of the country's armed forces said on Monday.

The government of President Gustavo Petro has since 2022 pursued peace negotiations with leftist guerrillas and criminal gangs founded by former right-wing paramilitaries, in a bid to end Colombia's internal conflict.

Six decades of fighting in the Andean country has killed at least 450,000 people.

"They don't genuinely demonstrate a will for peace, they're always targeting the population while exerting more control over activities like drug-trafficking and illicit mining, so we have to go after them," Admiral Francisco Cubides said in an interview with Reuters.

"The government has always been open to talks but these groups have taken advantage of this generosity," he added.

The government, which has pushed peace efforts including bilateral ceasefires with leftist rebels the National Liberation Army (ELN), two dissident factions of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and the Clan del Golfo crime gang, continues working to cement deals even as fighting restarts and some groups have splintered, making negotiations more difficult.

So far this year, Colombia's military has confiscated 560 tonnes of cocaine, a major source of income for armed groups, Cubides said.

The groups and their support networks number more than 20,000 people, he said, adding that in some parts of Colombia they fight each other but in other regions form alliances to produce cocaine and mine gold.

"It's a complex network of crime that the military and the police are attacking with a view to imposing greater control," Cubides said.

The FARC dissident faction until recently known as the Segunda Marquetalia is the one that profits most from drug trafficking, while crime gang the Clan del Golfo mostly controls illegal mining, he added.

Some of the groups, particularly the dissident FARC, insist they fight for social justice and for communities abandoned by the state, something Cubides dismisses.

"Today, these groups have lost their ideology and are totally dedicated to their livelihoods and supporting illegal economies," Cubides said.