• Human Rights Defenders

 Hitmen kill journalist Cristian Herrera in Cúcuta. Journalist Cristian Herrera Nariño was shot dead by hired gunmen on 6 June in the Quinta Oriental neighbourhood of Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, after being ambushed while visiting relatives. A veteran crime and conflict reporter, former editor of Q’Hubo and reporter for La Opinión, Herrera was widely respected for his investigations into corruption, organised crime and public security issues in the region. He was also a member of the board of the Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) and had lived under state protection for years due to repeated threats linked to his work, including surviving a previous assassination attempt and periods of exile abroad. His killing prompted condemnation from press freedom organisations, government officials and fellow journalists, who described it as a serious attack on press freedom and democracy.

ACSN threatens leaders of Puerto Wilches and gives them 48 hours to leave the municipality. Less than 24 hours after Colombia’s presidential election, a pamphlet attributed to the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN) declared several social and political leaders in the municipality of Puerto Wilches, Santander, to be “military targets” and ordered them to leave the area within 48 hours. Those threatened include members of the Municipal Human Rights Committee, the regional human rights organisation CREDHOS, activists linked to the Pacto Histórico coalition and other community leaders. CREDHOS denounced the threats as an attack on democratic participation and political pluralism, noting that they emerged shortly after Iván Cepeda won the municipality despite Abelardo de la Espriella winning the wider department of Santander.

• Conflict, Victims and Peace Talks

Santiago Uribe is definitively sentenced to 28 years in prison for murder and paramilitarism in the case of ‘The 12 apostles’. The Colombian Supreme Court has definitively upheld the 28-year prison sentence against Santiago Uribe Vélez for aggravated homicide and criminal conspiracy linked to the paramilitary group Los 12 Apóstoles, bringing to an end one of Colombia’s longest-running and most controversial judicial cases. The court confirmed that Santiago Uribe helped lead the group, which operated in northern Antioquia during the 1990s and was responsible for a campaign of “social cleansing” involving murders, forced disappearances and other abuses. The ruling overturns an earlier acquittal and confirms a 2025 appellate court decision, concluding a process that began in the mid-1990s and was revived in 2010 following new evidence and testimony from former police major Juan Carlos Meneses.

Three men found murdered on the road between Cúcuta and Puerto Santander. Three men were found dead on 8 June in the rural community of Agua Clara, on the road linking Cúcuta and Puerto Santander in the border department of Norte de Santander. The killings occurred in a strategic border corridor where multiple illegal armed groups operate, and investigators have not yet established either the motive or those responsible. Human rights organisation Corpades classified the incident as a massacre and noted that it was the second such event reported in Colombia within 48 hours. According to Indepaz, the case brings the number of massacres recorded in Colombia in 2026 to at least 63.

Pedro Sánchez: “The promise to end drug trafficking in 90 days is impossible”. Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez dismissed presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella’s pledge to defeat drug trafficking and restore security within 90 days as “impossible”, arguing that narcotics trafficking is a complex global system sustained by illegal economies rather than simply criminal organisations that can be dismantled through military force alone.

Colombia Sentences ‘Otoniel’ as the Gulf Clan Continues to Expand. The sentencing of former Gulf Clan leader Dairo Antonio Úsuga David marks an important symbolic victory for Colombian and US authorities but has done little to weaken the criminal organisation he once led. Otoniel, who was captured in 2021, extradited to the United States and is serving a 45-year prison sentence for drug trafficking offences, remains the most prominent figure associated with the Gulf Clan. However, the group has demonstrated a remarkable ability to survive leadership losses, continuing to expand territorially and strengthen its influence under the command of successors such as “Chiquito Malo”. Rather than collapsing after Otoniel’s capture, the organisation has adapted by delegating authority to regional commanders, enabling it to consolidate control in strategic areas and remain Colombia’s largest criminal group.

ELN drone attack leaves five marines injured in Bajo Baudó (Chocó). An attack using explosive-laden drones attributed to the ELN guerrilla group injured four members of the Colombian Navy in the municipality of Bajo Baudó, Chocó. According to military authorities, the marines were carrying out operations in the region when they were targeted by the aerial devices, suffering non-life-threatening injuries.

Government warns that “Tito’s” escape puts at risk the progress of peace with Comuneros del Sur. The escape of Luis Alberto Villota Rodríguez, alias “Tito”, a senior commander of the armed group Comuneros del Sur, has dealt a significant blow to one of the Colombian government’s most advanced peace processes. Tito, who had been designated a government-recognised peace facilitator despite facing serious charges, escaped from a clinic in Pasto after armed men reportedly overpowered security personnel and removed him from custody. In response, the government immediately revoked his status as a peace manager. Government negotiators described the escape as an attack on the peace process and announced a review of similar benefits granted to other group members. Despite the setback, officials confirmed that talks will continue, citing 12 agreements already reached on issues including humanitarian demining, the release of child recruits, the search for disappeared persons and community development projects in Nariño.

• Business, Human Rights, Environment and Indigenous peoples

Colombia’s presidential runoff could impact the future of the Amazon rainforest and fossil fuels. Colombia’s 2026 presidential election has become a pivotal contest for the future of the Amazon rainforest. Colombia is home to roughly 6–7% of the Amazon and has positioned itself as an international advocate for rainforest conservation and a transition away from oil and coal, despite continuing pressures from illegal mining, cattle ranching, coca cultivation and deforestation. A change of government could reshape environmental policy at a time when the Amazon faces mounting threats and when global climate politics are also being influenced by the return of Donald Trump to the White House.

Colombia’s Petro to Chair UN Security Council Meeting. President Petro chaired a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on 9 June as part of Colombia’s rotating presidency of the body. The session focused on peacebuilding, conflict prevention and the protection of civilians, themes that Colombia has sought to prioritise since taking up its non-permanent seat on the Council for the 2026–2027 term. Colombia assumed the rotating presidency of the Security Council for June 2026 and has pledged to emphasise peacebuilding, women’s participation in peace processes and the protection of children affected by armed conflict during its tenure.

Colombia passes law to track cattle and keep deforestation-linked beef out of supply chains. Colombia has enacted a landmark law requiring the cattle industry to trace livestock throughout the supply chain and prove that beef products are not linked to deforestation, making it the first tropical forest country to establish a nationwide legal framework of this kind. The legislation integrates cattle-tracking, land ownership and deforestation-monitoring systems to identify animals raised on illegally cleared land and prevent them from entering domestic and international markets. Colombia has lost an estimated 3.3 million hectares of forest, particularly in the Amazon region, and environmental organisations have documented the movement of hundreds of thousands of cattle from areas overlapping national parks into commercial markets. The law will be implemented over a two-year period, with new certification systems, monitoring mechanisms and due-diligence requirements for slaughterhouses, traders and exporters.

• Women and Gender Based Violence

Will the only ones captured for the crime of Sara Miller be free? Research faces a watershed moment. The judicial process surrounding the murder of Sara Millerey González, a 32-year-old trans woman whose killing in Bello, Antioquia, has reached a critical stage as the two only suspects currently in custody could be released due to procedural delays. Prosecutors are seeking to extend the detention of Juan David Echavarría and Juan Camilo Muñoz, who face charges including aggravated homicide and torture, arguing that they should remain behind bars while the investigation continues.

Colombia’s Congress bans female genital mutilation. Colombia’s Congress has approved a landmark law, in its last opportunity to be passed, to prevent and eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM). Making Colombia the first in Latin America to adopt specific legislation addressing the practice. The bill was passed after two years of legislative debate and extensive collaboration between lawmakers, indigenous leaders, women’s rights organisations and affected communities. Rather than relying primarily on criminal penalties, the law adopts a preventive and educational approach, creating a national public policy framework for prevention, protection and victim support. Official figures recorded more than 200 cases between 2020 and 2025. The law now awaits presidential assent before entering into force.

• Civil Society and Protests

Colombia: Report on the Humanitarian Needs Response Plan HNRP 2026, 5W System – Beneficiaries JAN-APR (28/05/2026). The 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) for Colombia reports that humanitarian organisations reached approximately 1.1 million people between January and April 2026 through assistance and protection activities, representing around 60% of the planned target for that period. The response focused on communities affected by armed conflict, forced displacement, confinement, natural disasters and migration-related vulnerabilities, with the departments of Chocó, Cauca, Nariño, Norte de Santander and Antioquia among the most affected. Despite the substantial reach of humanitarian operations, the report highlights significant funding gaps that continue to limit the scale of assistance available to millions of people in need.

Beyond Weapons: The CNEB, Territorial Networks and the Challenges of Peacebuilding in the Colombian Pacific. According to Indepaz, the emergence of the Coordinadora Nacional Ejército Bolivariano (CNEB) reflects the continuing transformation of Colombia’s armed conflict rather than its resolution. The organisation, formed from sectors of the former Second Marquetalia dissident movement and armed structures operating in the Pacific region, demonstrates how armed groups are increasingly embedded in complex territorial networks involving illegal economies, local governance systems and community relations. Peacebuilding in the Colombian Pacific cannot be reduced to disarmament or negotiations with armed actors alone; instead, it requires addressing the underlying territorial conditions that sustain conflict, including state absence, poverty, illicit economies, environmental degradation and weak institutions. Therefore, Indepaz calls for a model of “territorial peace” that prioritises local participation, development, security guarantees and institutional presence alongside negotiations.

• International and Domestic Politics

Why is the US so invested in Colombia’s election?The United States is closely watching Colombia’s 2026 presidential election because Colombia has long been Washington’s most important ally in South America, receiving extensive US military, economic and anti-narcotics support over several decades. Far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who has publicly aligned himself with Donald Trump and received the US president’s endorsement, leads the race against left-wing senator Iván Cepeda. A victory for de la Espriella could reverse many of President Petro’s progressive policies, including approaches to security, drug policy and regional diplomacy, while strengthening ties with Washington. The election is therefore seen as a crucial contest over Colombia’s future direction and the balance of US influence in Latin America, with implications for security cooperation, the war on drugs, economic relations and broader geopolitical alignments in the region.

Court orders De la Espriella to remove all political advertising that includes patriotic symbols. A Bogotá Superior Tribunal judge ordered presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella and his movement Defensores de la Patria to remove within 24 hours all campaign advertising featuring Colombian national symbols, including the flag, coat of arms, references to the armed forces, military salutes and the slogans “Firmes por la Patria” and “Defensores de la Patria”. De la Espriella rejected the decision, announcing plans to challenge it through legal channels.

House representative illegally suspends Petro as president of Colombia. Political controversy erupted in Colombia after Gloria Arizabaleta, a member of the House of Representatives’ Accusations Committee, issued a resolution seeking to suspend President Petro from office until the conclusion of the presidential run-off election. She alleged that he had improperly intervened in the campaign by supporting ruling-party candidate Iván Cepeda. The move was swiftly condemned by legal experts, government officials and opposition figures alike as unconstitutional overreach. Consequently, the resolution had no immediate legal effect and Petro remained in office. Even conservative candidate Abelardo de la Espriella criticised the attempt, describing it as a form of institutional overreach.

Cepeda campaign begins vote-buying investigation. The campaign of presidential candidate Iván Cepeda has launched its own investigation into allegations of vote buying and electoral irregularities ahead of Colombia’s 21 June runoff election. Cepeda appointed lawyer Miguel Ángel del Río to gather evidence and pursue complaints related to suspected electoral crimes, including the alleged purchase of votes and the misuse of campaign financing.