Colombia Faces Uncertain Future as Election Nears Amid Rising Violence

Colombia is currently preparing for a presidential election that is taking place under a dark cloud of rising political violence. The situation has reached its highest levels in a decade, forcing the country’s long-standing internal armed conflict to the center of the political debate. This election is not just a choice between different candidates; it is a choice between two completely different ways to handle a war that has claimed nearly half a million lives.

The human cost of this instability is clear. According to The Guardian World, the recent death of 24-year-old journalist Mateo Pérez Rueda has become a symbol of this dangerous environment. Rueda was kidnapped, tortured, and killed by a group known as the 36th Front, which is made up of dissidents—former members who refused to stop fighting—of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). His death occurred while he was reporting on the ongoing conflict between the army, paramilitaries, and these rebel groups in the province of Antioquia.

This violence is a reminder that while the 2016 peace deal between the government and most of the Farc reduced fighting for several years, it did not end the conflict permanently. The Guardian World reports that some rebel factions refused to sign the agreement, and they have since grown in strength and size. Furthermore, many experts believe that subsequent governments did not move fast enough to put the peace deal into action, allowing these groups to regain power.

The upcoming election features a sharp divide between the left and the right. The current president, Gustavo Petro, cannot run for re-election. Instead, he has given his support to the left-wing senator Iván Cepeda. Cepeda is currently leading in the polls and is the main architect of the government’s “total peace” plan. This plan aims to sign disarmament deals—agreements where groups agree to give up their weapons—with all criminal organizations. While Cepeda remains committed to this path, many security experts argue that the plan has failed. They note that armed groups have used temporary ceasefires—periods where both sides agree to stop fighting—to expand their territory and influence.

In contrast, the main challengers from the right side of the political spectrum, including lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and senator Paloma Valencia, have promised a return to all-out war. They argue that the current approach is not working and that a stronger military response is necessary as soon as they take office. This debate over security is happening while the country experiences a surge in guerrilla attacks, kidnappings, and massacres. The Guardian World noted that even political candidates are not safe; last year, the right-wing senator Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot and killed during a campaign event.

While the rebel groups often claim to have a political agenda, the reality on the ground is often driven by money. According to Jorge Rueda, a relative of the murdered journalist, the war in areas like Antioquia is largely about control over illegal activities. These include drug production, the smuggling of cocaine, illegal gold mining, and logging. Al Jazeera English reports that in the Catatumbo region, Farc dissidents claim they returned to war because the historic peace deal failed to provide the security and social changes they were promised. These groups are now fighting rivals for control of territory and profitable drug trafficking routes.

The scale of the violence remains alarming. On a recent Monday, more than 50 people were killed in clashes between two Farc dissident groups in the southern department of Guaviare. Many of those killed were children and teenagers who had been forced to join these criminal factions. Despite these high numbers, researchers like Alejandro Chala from the Fundación Paz y Reconciliación suggest that the current situation is not yet as bad as it was before the 2016 peace agreement. However, for many Colombians, the feeling that the war never really ended is very real.

As the election approaches, the country stands at a crossroads. Voters must decide whether to continue the difficult work of negotiating peace or to return to a strategy of military confrontation. With criminal groups continuing to compete for control over resources and territory, the next president will face the immediate and difficult task of restoring order to a nation that is tired of decades of conflict.