President De la Espriella Threatens Disarmed Colombian Guerrillas

President Abelardo de la Espriella has signaled a sharp reversal of Colombia's peace strategy following his election, leaving 99 former guerrilla fighters in legal limbo. These combatants, members of the National Coordinator of the Bolivarian Army (CNEB) and the Commandos of the Frontier, disarmed in June under the total peace plan established by former President Gustavo Petro.

Currently housed in a government-controlled temporary location zone (ZUT) in Valle del Guamuez, the fighters are under state protection until December 25. However, De la Espriella campaigned on replacing negotiations with a strategy of jailing or killing criminals and has already launched airstrikes against armed groups. As part of this shift, the president ordered the extradition of CNEB peace negotiator Geovany Andrés Rojas to the United States.

The former guerrillas have not yet received promised financial support and fear the new administration will revoke their protections and close the ZUT. Armando Novoa, the former official who led negotiations with the group, warned that the worst-case scenario would be for the government to close the zone and launch a military operation to capture or kill the unarmed fighters, which he characterized as a crime against humanity.