World · Latin America · 2 hrs ago
Colombia says violence has persisted since 2016 FARC peace deal
Colombia’s government told the U.N. Security Council that violence has continued since the 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
The agreement ended more than 50 years of war, and an estimated 14,000 fighters laid down their weapons.
Foreign Minister Omar Bula said 132,930 people were killed between the deal’s signing and August 2026, while armed group membership rose from 6,000 to almost 30,000.
The government’s figures could not be independently verified.
Bula said Colombia now faces the National Liberation Army, the Clan del Golfo cartel, FARC factions and other criminal networks, which fight for territory and profit from extortion and drug trafficking.
President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office in August, has promised to break with his predecessor’s policy of negotiating with armed groups and focus on security operations.
The U.N. Security Council continues to monitor the peace deal, and the mandate for its verification mission expires on October 31.
Colombia’s foreign minister told the U.N. Security Council that violence has persisted since the 2016 peace deal with the FARC.
Omar Bula said 132,930 people were killed between the deal’s signing in July 2016 and August 2026.
He also said armed group membership grew from 6,000 to almost 30,000 over the decade.
The government said armed groups and criminal networks are fighting for territorial control, while drug trafficking has reached unprecedented levels worldwide.
The figures cited by the government could not be independently verified.
- Who
- Colombia’s Foreign Minister Omar Bula addressed the U.N. Security Council.
- What
- He said violence and armed group membership have persisted or increased since the 2016 FARC peace deal.
- When
- Bula spoke on Monday; the figures he cited cover July 2016 to August 2026.
- Where
- The United Nations Security Council.
- Why
- Bula said armed groups and criminal networks are fighting for territorial control, and drug trafficking is driving criminal activity.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Colombia signed a peace agreement with the FARC.
President Abelardo de la Espriella was inaugurated.
Bula addressed the Security Council and reported figures covering the decade since the agreement.
- Deaths
- 132,930 people killed between July 2016 and August 2026, according to the government
- Armed group membership
- Increased from 6,000 to almost 30,000
- Extortion
- Nearly 100,000 cases recorded
- Kidnappings
- More than 2,750 recorded
- Coca production
- Rose by over 50% in 2023
What people are saying
the ideological and international promotion of the peace agreement as an exemplary event worthy of emulation is not borne out by the figures
The aim of these actions is to regain control over land, to weaken armed groups and their sources of financing, and to restore the presence and authority of the state in areas where criminal organizations have sought to substitute it
Sources
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