Colombia's presidential election has reached its climax, with voters due to cast their ballots this Sunday in what promises to be a defining moment for the nation. The legacy of the country's devastating paramilitary past looms large over the campaign, as two candidates present starkly differing visions for tackling the ongoing violence that has ravaged the country.
Senator Iván Cepeda, 63, is running on a left-wing platform shaped by his family's painful experiences with the paramilitary groups. His father was brutally murdered by army officers linked to such organisations, and Cepeda's subsequent career has been dedicated to exposing their crimes. He advocates for a nuanced continuation of the 'total peace' strategy, which seeks to negotiate a ceasefire with all armed factions – including left-wing rebels and organised crime groups.
His opponent, 47-year-old Abelardo de la Espriella, a self-styled outsider and admirer of Donald Trump's approach, has built his reputation defending paramilitary leaders. De la Espriella advocates for a return to full-scale military confrontation – an approach that has historically had limited success in stemming the tide of violence. Despite trailing Cepeda in the first round, he now leads in the polls.
The winner will inherit a country beset by its worst violence since the landmark 2016 peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Security experts argue that President Gustavo Petro's 'total peace' strategy has largely failed to stem the surge in crime and violence. The impact of this trend will be felt keenly across the Atlantic, as British citizens living in Colombia or engaging with Colombian trade and investment may find themselves increasingly concerned about security.
Colombia's paramilitary groups originated in the 1960s as right-wing militias formed by landowners, drug traffickers, and politicians to counter left-wing guerrillas. They gained notorious notoriety in the 1990s for their brutal massacres, targeting suspected guerrilla sympathisers, LGBTQ+ individuals, sex workers, and the homeless with extreme violence. Gustavo Duncan, a leading scholar on paramilitarism, has noted that these groups once boasted an astonishing 30,000 members – effectively creating 'an enormous army spread throughout the country'.