• Conflict, Victims and Peace Talks

Twelve soldiers injured in explosive attack on battalion in Riohacha (La Guajira). Twelve Colombian soldiers were injured in an explosive attack near the Cartagena Mechanised Infantry Battalion in Riohacha, La Guajira, on the night of 26 May, in an incident the Colombian military has preliminarily attributed to the ELN. Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez later offered a reward of up to COP 200 million for information leading to the capture of the perpetrators.

Defense Ministry warns that minors may have died in clashes between dissident groups in Guaviare. Colombia’s Defence Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has warned that minors may be among those killed in recent clashes between rival dissident factions of the former FARC guerrillas in the rural Barranco Colorado area of San José del Guaviare. According to the government, the fighting erupted on 25 May between forces loyal to alias “Iván Mordisco” and alias “Calarcá”, as both groups battle for territorial control, drug trafficking routes, extortion rackets and other illicit economies in Guaviare. While the exact death toll has not yet been confirmed but the preliminary death toll could be upwards of 50.

Five tons of rare earth elements, valued at COP 3 billion, were seized in Vichada.Colombian authorities have seized nearly five tonnes of “rare earth” minerals, including tin and coltan, during a military operation in the rural Casuarito area of Puerto Carreño, Vichada, in a haul valued at more than COP 3 billion. The operation, led by the army’s 28th Brigade with support from the navy, police and military intelligence units, followed several days of infiltration and surveillance targeting illegal mining operations in the region.

Defense Ministry points to the ELN for attack in Norte de Santander that leaves three police officers injured. Colombia’s Minister of Defence has attributed a recent attack in Norte de Santander to the ELN guerrilla group after three police officers were injured in an explosion and gunfire attack on a patrol travelling along the Cúcuta–Pamplona road near the Pamplonita toll. According to preliminary information from the National Police, the officers were travelling in an institutional vehicle and motorcycle when they were targeted with gunfire followed by the detonation of an improvised explosive device. The injured officers were taken to nearby medical centres, and additional security forces were deployed to the area to reinforce control and begin investigations to identify those responsible.

The JEP suspended the trial against retired Colonel David Guzmán Ramírez, who denies his responsibility in the ‘false positives’ in Antioquia. Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) has suspended the adversarial trial against retired Colonel David Herley Guzmán Ramírez, who is accused of involvement in extrajudicial killings known as “false positives” in Antioquia between 2004 and 2005. The decision was taken after the defence filed an appeal concerning one of the ten factual episodes included in the case, arguing that the outcome of that legal challenge could affect the evidentiary basis of the wider trial. Guzmán, who does not accept responsibility for the crimes attributed to him, is being tried over allegations linked to a pattern of civilians being killed and falsely presented as combatants by military units operating in Ituango and Dabeiba.

• Business, Human Rights, Environment and Indigenous peoples

First there were coalmines, then came the windfarms. Why Colombia’s Wayúu people fear Colombia’s green energy boom. There are growing fears among the Wayúu that Colombia’s push towards renewable energy is repeating the same patterns of exploitation and environmental destruction caused by decades of coal mining in La Guajira. Community leaders say large-scale mining projects, particularly the Glencore-owned Cerrejón coalmine, have contaminated land and water sources, worsened food insecurity and forced displacement, contributing to malnutrition and the erosion of Indigenous culture. With more than 30 wind projects planned across La Guajira, communities fear further pressure on scarce water resources, damage to sacred sites and increased social conflict.

Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle. Climate policy has become a defining issue ahead of Colombia’s 2026 presidential election, with fears growing that a global resurgence of right-wing “Trumpist” politics could threaten the country’s fragile environmental agenda. Environmental activists and Indigenous organisations fear that a victory by right-leaning candidates in next year’s election could reverse hard-won protections for the Amazon and undermine Colombia’s commitments to tackling the climate crisis, particularly as international political trends shift towards deregulation and fossil fuel expansion.

Colombia’s financial intelligence unit finds “unjustified wealth accumulation” in Supreme Court justice’s tax records. Colombia’s financial intelligence unit (UIAF) has reported alleged “unjustified wealth accumulation” in the tax records of Supreme Court magistrate Cristina Lombana and her husband, attorney Leonardo Andrés Carvajal, findings that could lead to criminal investigations into possible illicit enrichment. According to a report cited by Caracol Radio and Colombia Reports, Lombana’s declared wealth rose from around COP 651 million in 2017 to more than COP 3 billion by 2024, an increase the UIAF says cannot be explained by the couple’s reported income. Investigators also claim that the real value of the couple’s assets may be substantially higher than declared to Colombia’s tax authority, DIAN, and identified ownership of 13 properties in Bogotá, Cundinamarca and Medellín. The UIAF further questioned why Lombana allegedly continued receiving disability benefits from her previous role in the military justice system while simultaneously earning a Supreme Court salary.

• Women and Gender Based Violence

Colombia’s Congress blocks a ban on female genital mutilation in its final debate. Colombia’s Congress is at risk of shelving a landmark bill aimed at preventing and eradicating female genital mutilation (FGM) after failing to advance the legislation to its final debate before the end of the current legislative session. The proposed law would establish Colombia’s first comprehensive public policy framework on FGM. Official figures show 204 reported cases between 2020 and 2025, most involving Indigenous girls, though activists and medical professionals believe the real number is far higher due to underreporting.

Women reported being abused during the Army entrance exam: “It caused us shame and anguish”. Several women aspiring to join Colombia’s National Army have alleged abusive medical procedures during the recruitment and entrance examination process, claiming that the examinations included invasive and inappropriate physical or gynaecological checks that they consider unnecessary and carried out without adequate explanation or consent.

Man accused of abusing and throwing Ana María Meza from a fifth floor in Bogotá sent to jail. A Bogotá judge has ordered the pre-trial detention of Carlos Mario Rodríguez Rosas, the former partner of political scientist Ana María Cristina Meza Rodríguez, who died after falling from a fifth-floor apartment in northern Bogotá in January 2026, in a case now being treated as aggravated femicide. Prosecutors allege that Rodríguez Rosas physically assaulted Meza during an argument, suffocated her until she lost consciousness, sexually assaulted her and then threw her from the apartment window before attempting to stage the scene as a suicide. The Fiscalía stated that forensic evidence and inconsistencies in the suspect’s account led investigators to conclude the death was a feminicide.

• Civil Society and Protests

At least six dead and a hundred injured in clashes between Misak and Nasa indigenous people in Cauca. At least six people were killed and more than 100 injured in violent clashes between the Misak and Nasa Indigenous communities in the Cauca department of south-western Colombia, following a long-running territorial dispute over an 800-hectare area in the municipality of Silvia. The conflict intensified after Colombia’s National Land Agency (ANT) granted ownership rights over the land to the Nasa community, a decision strongly rejected by the Misak, who claim ancestral rights to the territory and accuse the Nasa of illegally occupying the land for months. What began as confrontations involving sticks and stones escalated into gunfire, prompting Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez to authorise military deployment to restore order.

Statement to the public from the UN Verification Mission, MAPP-OAS and the Episcopal Conference. The UN Verification Mission in Colombia, the OAS Mission to Support the Peace Process (MAPP/OEA) and the Colombian Episcopal Conference issued a joint statement expressing “deep concern” over the worsening security situation in the Catatumbo region of Norte de Santander, where escalating clashes between armed groups have led to threats, stigmatisation and direct attacks against civilians, social leaders, community representatives and local authorities. The statement came shortly after the killing of six people, including social leader Freiman David Velásquez and two UNP bodyguards, in an attack on the Ocaña–Ábrego road in Catatumbo, an area long affected by conflict involving the ELN and FARC dissident groups.

The dispute over young people in Popayán. Indepaz reports a growing and complex struggle in Popayán, Cauca, over the control and influence of young people, particularly in vulnerable neighbourhoods where armed groups, criminal networks and illicit economies intersect with everyday urban life. It explains how various actors, including organised armed structures linked to drug trafficking and local gangs, compete to recruit, co-opt or exert control over adolescents, using economic incentives, intimidation and social pressure.

• International and Domestic Politics

Colombian presidential candidates wrap up campaigns with big rallies. Colombia’s main presidential candidates have concluded their election campaigns with large rallies across the country ahead of the first round vote on 31 May. Leftist candidate Iván Cepeda, who currently leads in most polls, held a major closing event in Barranquilla where he reiterated his commitment to continuing and deepening President Petro’s social reforms. His main rivals, right-wing lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and conservative senator Paloma Valencia, also staged high-profile final rallies, each appealing to voters on themes of security, economic policy and opposition to Petro’s agenda. De la Espriella has campaigned on a hardline security platform and economic liberalisation, while Valencia has focused on tough anti-crime measures and reversing key government policies.

Final poll before Colombia’s first round vote – Cepeda: 44.6%, De la Espriella: 31.6%. The final major poll before Colombia’s 31 May presidential election suggests that left-wing senator Iván Cepeda remains the frontrunner but is likely headed for a second-round runoff against far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella. According to an Invamer survey cited by Colombia Reports, Cepeda holds 44.6% support among decided voters, only slightly above his April figures, while De la Espriella surged to 31.6%, consolidating much of the right-wing vote and overtaking fellow conservative candidate Paloma Valencia, who polled at around 14%. The poll indicates that no candidate is likely to secure the more than 50% required for an outright first-round victory, making a runoff on 21 June increasingly probable.

Rights group accuses UAE of being transit point for mercenaries on way to Sudan. A report by Human Rights Watch alleges that Colombian mercenaries were recruited by a UAE-based company and transported through Emirati military bases to support the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, where they were reportedly involved in operations linked to atrocities including mass killings, rape and the destruction of civilian infrastructure during the ongoing civil war. Based on interviews with Colombian fighters and analysis of social media evidence, the investigation claims former Colombian soldiers were recruited for “drone pilot work in Africa”, trained at UAE military facilities and deployed to Darfur via transit points in the UAE, Libya, Chad and Somalia.

Ecuador Responded that It Is Maintaining the 100% Tariffs on Colombia. Ecuador has confirmed that it will maintain punitive tariffs on Colombian imports despite pressure from the Andean Community (CAN) to dismantle the escalating trade measures imposed by both countries. The dispute began earlier in 2026 when the government of Daniel Noboa raised tariffs on Colombian goods from 30% to 50%, and eventually to 100%, arguing that Colombia had failed to adequately combat drug trafficking and insecurity along the shared border. In response, the government of Gustavo Petro imposed retaliatory tariffs of between 35% and 75% on around 190 Ecuadorian products and suspended electricity exports. The CAN has ruled that both countries’ measures violate regional free trade rules and ordered them to remove the restrictions within ten working days, but Ecuador has filed legal appeals that could prolong the conflict for years.

Colombia’s election authority walks back suspension of controversial pollster. Colombia’s National Electoral Council (CNE) has reversed a controversial decision that had temporarily suspended the publication of opinion polls by the firm AtlasIntel, restoring its ability to release electoral surveys while further scrutiny continues. The suspension had originally been ordered as a precautionary measure amid allegations that the pollster’s methodology did not adequately reflect Colombian society and may have breached new technical standards introduced under recently tightened electoral regulations. However, after internal debate and political pressure, the CNE’s full chamber reviewed the measure and agreed to lift it, arguing that the initial ruling was procedurally flawed and required broader consensus rather than a single-magistrate decision.