Colombia: President Gustavo Petro Halts Ceasefire With Clan del Golfo

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has suspended the ceasefire imposed between Colombia and the criminal group Clan del Golfo.

Petro said in a tweet that he has ordered Colombia's armed forces to reactivate all military operations against the criminal organization, according to Reuters.

The Colombian president said that the reason behind the reactivation of military operations against Clan del Golfo was the rifle attack on the police force by the criminal organization, which effectively broke the ceasefire agreement.

Petro then said that all armed forces must act "immediately against the mafia organization."

The president earlier accused the group of destroying a municipal canal in Antioquia province amid roadblocks

By then, Petro said that the group had "broken the ceasefire," adding that there was no possibility of negotiations with the group if they resume the attacks.

Colombia Ceasefire Agreements

In January, Colombia has withdrawn itself from an announcement that it had reached a ceasefire on the country's largest remaining armed groups.

Petro declared the ceasefire on New Year's Eve, which was a temporary truce that he agreed with the country's five largest armed groups from January 1 to June 30.

National Liberation Army rebels said that they were not included in those peace talks, noting that it had not discussed "any proposal for a bilateral ceasefire," as reported by Al Jazeera.

The group said that the ceasefire was a "proposal to be examined."

In 2016, the Colombian government signed a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. However, FARC dissidents rejected the deal and picked up weapons again.

ELN has around 3,500 fighters across Colombia based on official estimates.

The Colombian president aims to follow his "total peace" plan, looking to bring an end to around six decades of armed conflict. The conflict killed at least 450,000 people from 1985 to 2018 alone.

Clan Del Golfo

The Clan del Golfo, also known as the Gautanistas, emerged from Colombia's paramilitary movement and transformed into a notorious criminal group.

In October 2021, authorities captured its leader, Dairo Antonio Usuga, known as Otoniel.

InsightCrime noted that the Clan del Golfo is mainly involved in transnational drug trafficking, with members of the leadership group also being international traffickers that manage their own routes.

The group also controls territories and regulates the market for illegal narcotics, with protection for processing laboratories.

The criminal network has a presence in at least 17 of Colombia's departments, with a partial international presence.

Its base and territorial stronghold is at the Gulf of Uraba in the departments of Antioquia and Choco.

Its competitors include FARC and ELN.

In 2020 and 2021, the group was reported to have formed an alliance with its old enemies, which is the Rastrojos, to fight back against the ELN and the ex-FARC Mafia at the Colombia-Venezuela border.

Clan del Golfo showed its interest to be part of the Total Peace proposal in 2020, which was created by Petro.

READ MORE: Colombia's Most-Wanted Drug Lord Dairo Antonio Usuga Arrested; Pres. Ivan Duque Likened It to Capture of Pablo Escobar

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Petro ordena suspender cese bilateral con el Clan del Golfo y reactivar operaciones militares - from Noticias Caracol