The election victory of Colombia’s first avowedly left-wing President, Gustavo Petro, in 2022 marked the start of yet another series of peace negotiations with armed groups in the country’s longstanding history of internal conflict. The policy of ‘Paz Total’ (Total Peace) was a central pillar of Petro’s election campaign and his ongoing administration.

The defining feature of this policy and subsequent legislation (Law 418 of Paz Total) is that is sets the legal framework for the government to extend negotiations with insurgents to criminal organisations. What are the implications of this policy for security in Colombia, and what are the challenges and opportunities for peace?

Image: Ministry of the Interior of Colombia

• colombia
• conflict
• peace
• security and threat