On Friday, the president of Colombia issued a decree granting him emergency powers to reinstate order in a coca-producing area near Venezuela. This region has recently experienced a violent dispute among dissident rebel factions.
President Gustavo Petro’s decree allows him to enforce curfews, regulate traffic, and implement measures that would typically infringe on citizens’ rights or require approval from Congress. This decree, which can be prolonged, provides a 90-day timeframe for these actions.
This is the first instance in over ten years that a Colombian president has resorted to such extreme measures, highlighting the severity of the ongoing conflict in a nation that has a history of being plagued by political turmoil.
However, it applies only to the rural Catatumbo region near the border with Venezuela, where the Colombian state has struggled for decades to gain a foothold. In the past week, at least 80 people have been killed and an estimated 36,000 more displaced as fighting intensifies between the National Liberation Army, or ELN, and holdouts from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
Police patrol in Tibu, Colombia, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, following guerrilla attacks that have killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee their homes in the Catatumbo region. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Petro’s conservative opponents have criticized the move, accusing the former guerrilla of riding roughshod over the constitution. But some activists have celebrated it, saying they are hopeful the move translates into better infrastructure, health care and schools in the traditionally lawless region.
“Why are the armed groups here? Because the last government hasn’t made investments. They’ve abandoned us,” Jaime Botero, an activist in the town of Tibu, told The Associated Press.
Earlier this week Petro reactivated arrest orders against 31 top ELN commanders that had been suspended as part of an effort to woo the the Cuban revolution-inspired insurgency into a peace deal to end its 60 year war against the state. Petro also suspended all peace talks, which have advanced slowly since he took office in 2022.
The ELN has traditionally dominated in Catatumbo but has been losing ground to holdouts from the FARC, a guerrilla group that largely disbanded after signing a peace deal in 2016 with the government.
The current conflict is spilling across the border into Venezuela, where some of those fleeing the violence have sought refuge.
The current whereabouts of the ELN peace negotiators is unknown. But Cuba’s government this week said they are not there, leading some to speculate they may be hiding in Venezuela, which is one of the sponsors of Petro’s peace initiative with the ELN.
