• Human Rights Defenders

SOCIAL LEADERS, HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND SIGNATORIES OF AGREEMENTS MURDERED IN 2024, 2025 AND 2026. According to Indepaz’s monitoring of political violence and human rights abuses, Colombia continues to face persistent violence against social leaders, human rights defenders and former FARC combatants who signed the 2016 Peace Agreement. Indepaz reports that 187 social leaders and human rights defenders and 39 peace agreement signatories were killed during 2025, bringing the cumulative totals since 2016 to 1,891 murdered social leaders and 477 murdered former combatants.

• Conflict, Victims and Peace Talks

Bomb attack against a police station in Arauca leaves three dead. An explosive attack targeted the police substation in Betoyes, a rural area of Tame in Arauca department, killing two police officers and a woman who was nearby, while injuring nine police officers and a soldier. One of the officers killed was identified as Patrolman Adrián Stiven Riascos Valencia. The attack was carried out using explosive devices and prompted a joint military and police operation to secure the area and investigate those responsible.

39 people kidnapped by the ELN in rural Chocó released. Thirty-nine people, including a minor, who were kidnapped by the ELN on the road between Quibdó and Carmen de Atrato in Chocó, have been freed following a military rescue operation. The hostages, who were travelling on two public transport vehicles, were abducted during clashes between the guerrilla group and the Colombian military. The rescue operation involved multiple Army units, the Air Assault Aviation Division and the Colombian Aerospace Force, but two soldiers were killed and five others were injured after the ELN detonated an explosive device and engaged troops in combat.

De La Espriella gives ultimatum of less than a month to ELN leaders who commit crimes in Santanderes: ‘Bandit who does not submit will be killed’. President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella issued an ultimatum to ELN commanders operating in the Santanderes, giving them less than a month to surrender or face military action once his administration takes office. During a visit to the region, he said that armed group members who failed to demobilise would be treated as military targets, declaring that any “bandit” who did not submit would be “taken down”. De la Espriella pledged to abandon the outgoing government’s dialogue-centred security approach in favour of a strategy focused on restoring state authority through sustained military operations, arguing that security is a prerequisite for economic development and public confidence.

They are looking for 14 bodies of people who disappeared between 2009 and 2010 in Itagüí cemetery. Colombia’s Search Unit for Missing Persons (UBPD) has begun the recovery of 14 bodies believed to belong to people who were forcibly disappeared between 2009 and 2010 and buried in the San Pío cemetery in Itagüí, Antioquia. The operation forms part of broader efforts to locate victims of the armed conflict and respond to requests from families seeking the truth about the fate of their relatives.

Alias ‘Bendito Menor’ is emerging as the first target of Abelardo de la Espriella. The leader of the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN), Naín Andrés Pérez Toncel, alias “Bendito Menor”, has emerged as one of the first high-profile targets of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella’s promised security crackdown. De la Espriella publicly ordered his incoming defence team to capture or, if necessary, kill the ACSN commander should he resist arrest, after videos circulated online showing the armed group leader openly moving through La Guajira and apparently mocking the authorities. “Bendito Menor” has become one of Colombia’s most visible criminal leaders, using social media to project power while leading the ACSN in a violent territorial conflict with the Clan del Golfo across the Sierra Nevada region.

Jaminton Campaz Delays Return to Colombia After Death Threats Following World Cup Exit. Colombian international footballer Jáminton Campaz has remained outside Colombia after receiving death threats against himself and his family following the national team’s elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Campaz became the target of online abuse after missing a crucial chance in extra time during Colombia’s last-16 defeat to Switzerland, although he later converted his penalty in the shootout. The case has revived painful memories of the 1994 murder of Colombian defender Andrés Escobar following that year’s World Cup.

Colombia’s De la Espriella to Cut 229 Posts, Including Peace Commissioner. President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella has announced plans to eliminate 229 positions within the Presidency as part of a broader effort to reduce the size of the state, including abolishing the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, the Presidential Human Rights Advisory Office, the National Reconciliation Advisory Office and other entities linked to implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement. He argued that these offices duplicate functions already performed by government ministries and said they would be replaced by a new security-focused structure led by a National Security Commissioner. The move reflects his pledge to end Petro’s Total Peace policy and prioritise military action over negotiations with armed groups.

Clashes between the National Army and alleged members of the Gulf Clan are reported in Jericó, Antioquia. Soldiers from the Colombian Army’s Cacique Nutibara Infantry Battalion, part of the Fourth Brigade, engaged in clashes with alleged members of the Clan del Golfo in the rural area of Jericó, Antioquia. The fighting took place in the Palenque area as part of a military offensive against the armed group’s presence in southwestern Antioquia.

• Business, Human Rights, Environment and Indigenous peoples

The risks of the elimination of the Presidential Advisory Office for Human Rights. The planned abolition of Colombia’s Presidential Human Rights Advisory Office by the incoming government has raised concerns among former officials, human rights organisations and experts, who argue that it would weaken the State’s ability to coordinate human rights policy, respond to abuses and engage with international monitoring bodies.

Seven Colombian NGOs Sign Roadmap to Protect Latin America’s Forests. Seven Colombian environmental organisations have signed a regional roadmap aimed at strengthening cooperation to protect Latin America’s forests in response to accelerating deforestation and biodiversity loss. The agreement commits the organisations to working together on forest conservation, restoring degraded ecosystems, supporting Indigenous and local communities, promoting sustainable land use and advocating stronger public policies to curb illegal logging and environmental destruction.

Colombia’s New Government Halts Euthanasia Plan for Pablo Escobar’s Hippos. The incoming government of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella has suspended the outgoing administration’s plan to euthanise dozens of Pablo Escobar’s invasive hippos, arguing that culling should only be considered as an absolute last resort. Environment Minister-designate Fabio Arjona said the new government will instead prioritise non-lethal measures, including sterilisation, relocation to wildlife sanctuaries and improved containment, while reviewing existing population management strategies.

Italian businessman did not accept charges for alleged deforestation in Mapiripán, Meta. Carlo Vigna Taglianti, the Italian director of palm oil company Poligrow, has been formally charged by Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office over his alleged role in a criminal network accused of illegally deforesting more than 52,000 hectares of native forest in Mapiripán, Meta, between 2008 and 2026. Prosecutors allege that the network illegally accumulated public land, built unlawful roads and caused extensive environmental damage in areas close to several protected national parks, including Tinigua, La Macarena and Chiribiquete. Vigna, who denies any wrongdoing and did not accept the charges, faces accusations including deforestation, ecocide, unlawful exploitation of natural resources, criminal conspiracy and procedural fraud.

• Women and Gender Based Violence

A shot on the first date or femicide at work: the harsh reality of women. The report highlights persistent and varied forms of gender-based violence faced by women in Bogotá, illustrating how violence can occur in everyday settings, from first dates to workplaces. It recounts recent cases, including a young woman who survived an attempted femicide after being shot by a man she had met for the first time, and women killed by current or former partners while at work, underscoring the risks many women face even in public spaces. The report stresses that these attacks are part of a broader pattern of violence against women rather than isolated incidents, with campaigners calling for stronger prevention measures, more effective institutional protection and greater efforts to tackle the underlying gender inequalities that enable such crimes.

New case of femicide in Medellín: woman was killed with a sharp weapon by her ex-partner; alleged perpetrator also died. A 42-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her partner in Medellín’s Popular neighbourhood after being stabbed around 15 times during a violent attack inside their home. According to the authorities, neighbours alerted the police after hearing screams, but when officers arrived, they found the woman dead and the suspected attacker critically injured, apparently after taking his own life following the assault. He later died in hospital. The case is being investigated as a suspected femicide.

The criminal who killed his 15-year-old girlfriend with a bullet to the face is convicted: the victim was pregnant. A Colombian court has sentenced a man to more than 43 years in prison for the aggravated femicide of his 15-year-old pregnant girlfriend, whom he shot in the face in 2023. The teenager, who was several months pregnant at the time of her death, was killed after enduring a pattern of abuse and control during the relationship.

The harassment that ended in femicide: the background of Rosa Mayerly Olaya’s crime. The events leading up to the femicide of Rosa Mayerly Olaya, who was murdered at her workplace in Soacha after enduring more than five months of persistent stalking and harassment by Óscar Giovanny Marulanda, whose repeated advances she had rejected. Despite reporting the intimidation and requesting police protection on two occasions, the measures proved insufficient to prevent the attack. Marulanda fatally stabbed Olaya at the Homecenter store where she worked and was arrested at the scene, although he has denied the charges.

• Civil Society and Protests

UN report warns of security crisis and criticizes total peace: this is what it says. The latest report by the UN Verification Mission warns that Colombia is facing a worsening security crisis, with violence by illegal armed groups continuing to undermine implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement despite some progress in rural reform and transitional justice. The report criticises the outgoing Petro administration’s Total Peace policy, arguing that fragmented negotiations, inconsistent implementation and repeated ceasefire violations have failed to reduce violence in many regions, while allowing some armed groups to strengthen their territorial control.

Drug Policy under Debate: Assessment and Recommendations. Colombia’s incoming government should avoid reverting to a prohibitionist, militarised drug policy and instead build on evidence-based reforms that address the structural drivers of illicit economies. Reviewing the outgoing administration’s record, there has been some progress in shifting the policy debate towards public health, rural development and voluntary crop substitution, but conclude that implementation was inconsistent and failed to deliver significant reductions in coca cultivation or drug-related violence. They warn that President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella’s proposals, centred on forced eradication, stronger military action and closer alignment with traditional US anti-drug strategies, risk repeating the failures of previous “war on drugs” approaches.

• International and Domestic Politics

US, Latin American allies urge against casting doubt on Colombia’s electoral process. The United States and 12 Latin American countries issued a joint statement expressing concern over recent claims and actions that, without substantiated evidence, have undermined confidence in Colombia’s presidential election following the narrow victory of right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. The statement, signed by members of the US-backed “Shield of the Americas” alliance, stressed that a peaceful transfer of power is a constitutional obligation essential to democratic stability and respect for the will of voters. Although it did not identify specific individuals, it followed allegations by defeated left-wing candidate Iván Cepeda that foreign interference, AI-generated disinformation and vote-buying had influenced the election, claims made without evidence. De la Espriella also accused Cepeda’s campaign of vote-buying without providing evidence.

Who’s who in the cabinet of Abelardo de la Espriella. The ministers appointed so far by President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, highlighting a cabinet dominated by experienced politicians, former public officials, military figures and conservative allies despite his campaign promise to govern with political outsiders. Key appointments include Rodrigo Lara at the Interior Ministry, Miguel Gómez at Finance, retired General Jorge Eduardo Mora at Defence, Iván Cancino at Justice and veteran diplomat Omar Bula at Foreign Affairs, alongside figures such as Viviane Morales at Education, Elsa Noguera at Transport and Fabio Arjona at Environment. The cabinet has a strong Caribbean representation, reflecting De la Espriella’s political base, as well as the influence of conservative Christian and pro-business sectors.

Colombia’s President-Elect Breaks With Tradition, Plans Military Base Inauguration. President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella has announced that he intends to take the presidential oath on 7 August at a military base in southern Colombia rather than in Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar, breaking with a long-standing tradition observed by every democratically elected president in recent decades. He said the decision reflects his commitment to the armed forces and symbolises a new security-focused administration, arguing that the military has been neglected under the outgoing government.

The fascist stench. Leonardo González Perafán argues that Colombia is showing increasingly recognisable characteristics of authoritarian and fascist politics following the election of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella. He contends that rhetoric centred on restoring order, national security and patriotic values, combined with attacks on political opponents, human rights organisations, independent institutions and the peace process, reflects patterns historically associated with authoritarian regimes. The article warns that the concentration of power, the militarisation of public life, the stigmatisation of dissent and the weakening of democratic checks and balances risk eroding constitutional guarantees and civil liberties.

De la Espriella’s entourage in the United States cooked up agreements: there was a Rubio-Restrepo meeting. Vice President-elect José Manuel Restrepo met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington as part of the incoming Colombian government’s efforts to reset relations with the United States ahead of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella’s inauguration. According to officials from the transition team, the meeting produced agreements to strengthen bilateral cooperation on security, counter-narcotics, trade and investment, while also coordinating positions on Venezuela and restoring close strategic ties after years of strained relations under the outgoing Petro administration. The discussions also covered plans to fully restore diplomatic relations with Israel, expand defence cooperation and deepen economic links with both countries.

Joan Sebastián Guerrero, the Colombian killed by an ICE agent in the United States, was still alive but did not receive help, neighbor said: “He was breathing”. A witness has alleged that Colombian national Joan Sebastián Guerrero was still alive and breathing after being shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during an operation in the United States, contradicting the official account of the incident. According to the testimony, Guerrero showed signs of life for several minutes after the shooting, raising questions about the response provided at the scene and prompting renewed calls for an independent investigation. The case has drawn significant attention in Colombia, with Guerrero’s family, human rights organisations and Colombian officials demanding greater transparency and accountability from the US authorities.