Colombia ends ceasefire with armed Gulf Clan, ELN and FARC after violations

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday announced the suspension of the ceasefire agreement with one of the country's largest criminal organizations after increasing attacks on civilians.

"I have ordered the armed forces to reactivate all military operations against the Clan del Golfo," Petro said in a tweet. "We will not allow them to continue sowing anxiety and terror in the communities."

On January 1, the government announced a bilateral ceasefire with several of Colombia's armed groups, including the Gulf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN), and remnants of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group, to bring an end to Colombia’s internal conflict, which has left more than 450,000 dead. 

"This is a bold act," Petro wrote on Twitter at the time. "The bilateral ceasefire obliges the armed organizations and the state to respect it. There will be a national and international verification mechanism."

On Sunday, however, the Colombian government accused the Gulf Clan, officially known as the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces (AGC), of burning six vehicles in the Bajo Cauca area in the department of Antioquia and ordering miners to destroy an aqueduct, a toll, and an ambulance. 

According to Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez, the country’s military forces and national police were given orders to carry out “offensive operations against the Clan del Golfo.”

The Gulf Clan, made up of former right-wing paramilitaries, is one of Colombia’s largest drug trafficking groups, controlling between 30 and 60% of the drugs exported from Colombia.