Latin America Advisor 2024-05-29 – Inter-American Dialogue

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

May 29, 2024

Should Colombia Change its Approach to the EMC Rebels?

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is weighing whether to halt a cease-fire with the Estado Mayor Central, or EMC, rebel group after it launched new deadly attacks. // File Photo: Colombian Government.

Q

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is considering whether to suspend a cease-fire with the Estado Mayor Central, or EMC, following two bombings blamed on the rebel group that killed four people, including two police officers, and injured several others in Cauca province, the country’s defense minister said last week. The government has been in ongoing peace negotiations with the EMC, a dissident FARC faction that refused to demobilize during Colombia’s historic peace process, but the group has continued carrying out attacks, derailing cease-fire agreements. What motivated the recent spate of attacks by the EMC, and what is the group attempting to accomplish by continuing its attacks? Has Petro’s approach to the EMC so far failed, and how should he approach the group’s continuing violence? Are recent events evidence of a split within the EMC or a change in the conflict’s dynamics?

A

Peter DeShazo, visiting professor of Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College and former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs: “President Petro’s ‘Total Peace’ policy has failed to stem the rising tide of insecurity and drug trafficking in Colombia. In March, the government suspended a cease-fire agreement with EMC units in southwest Colombia following an attack on an Indigenous reserve, and further EMC violence prompted Petro to declare a ‘total offensive’ against the EMC in this region. These recent EMC attacks underscore the futility of negotiating cease-fire agreements and peace talks with criminal organizations that have no motivation to disband. The peace process with the FARC during the Santos administration came to fruition because…”

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The Inter-American Dialogue publishes the Latin America Advisor every business day for a distinguished membership of informed corporate leaders, scholars, and government officials invested in Latin America’s development and future. The Advisor‘s highly regarded Q&A section covers questions submitted by subscribers themselves. Commentators regularly include heads of state, business leaders, diplomats, economists, analysts, and thought leaders from around the world. Many of the world’s largest and fastest-growing companies subscribe to the Advisor. To subscribe, click here. For terms and conditions, click here. For more information, contact Gene Kuleta, editor of the Advisor, at gkuleta@thedialogue.org.

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Ernesto Revilla
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Gustavo Roosen
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