Colombia in crisis

By: Pedro Corzo - 19/06/2025

Guest columnist.
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Colombia has undoubtedly been the state most besieged by political extremism and organized crime, two schismatic factors that profoundly affect human development. However, it must be acknowledged that, despite the profound crises, democratic alternation has not been undermined, and not for lack of ill intentions on the part of some leaders.

Many factors have plotted against Colombian democracy. Individuals and entities have always been aware that their subversive or drug trafficking operations, to ensure their success, must be linked to foreign assets.

Violence in Colombia, as in the rest of the countries of the hemisphere, is a kind of plague, but the situation in that South American country worsened after the triumph of the Castro insurrection in Cuba and the increase in narcotics cultivation, manufacturing, and trafficking within the country.

Transnationalization in the execution and preparation of these criminal acts is more likely to succeed when foreign influences influence them, hence the importance of Nicolas Maduro's dictatorship in Venezuela and Miguel Diaz-Canel's totalitarianism in Cuba. Both Caracas and Havana exert great influence over Colombian criminal groups because they are important factors in the management of organized crime and simultaneously represent models of authority, not government, that inspire aspiring despots.

The country, as a result of the greed of various sectors of society, has never been completely pacified. Irregular groups are numerous and not only confront the state, regardless of who leads it, but also fight each other in pursuit of mutual destruction, rendering the nation defenseless.

The recent assassination attempt against Senator and presidential candidate for the Democratic Center, Miguel Uribe Turbay, who was shot twice on Saturday, June 7, at a rally in Bogotá, is an essential part of a criminal escalation that seeks to subject Colombia to the interests of these criminals. This event is compounded by the events that occurred this Tuesday, with a total of 19 attacks that resulted in the deaths of at least five civilians and three police officers, and dozens more injured, including minors.

It's important to note that there are reports that Senator Uribe's security detail was tampered with, which facilitated the assassination of a teenager, according to various reports.

The country's situation is so complicated that Claudia López, former mayor of Bogotá and presidential candidate, said the events are unacceptable and only demonstrate the country's chaotic security policy, where negotiated ceasefires generate impunity.

By using the term "impunity," the former mayor has echoed the accusations of political and social groups that opposed the concessions made to the FARC in the 2016 Havana Peace Accords, in which guerrillas who laid down their weapons received approval that the majority of the Colombian people rejected in a referendum.

The so-called dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, remnants of the irregulars who, during the Havana talks between officials of Juan Manuel Santos' government and the aforementioned FARC, did not accept peace and have continued to commit crimes in the country, as have units of the National Liberation Army (ELN).

The situation is serious in every respect. The current instability is a serious threat to next year's elections in March, and large sectors of the country blame President Gustavo Petro for everything that is happening.

I spoke with several Colombians who told me that Petro has proven himself inept in every sense of the word, that his governing style has fueled historic governmental inefficiency and increased tension throughout society, including within the government itself, since his deleterious approach has fostered indiscipline and social misconduct.

«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».