The roots of the Colombian conflict can be found in the civil war fought between supporters of the Liberal and Conservative parties, known as La Violencia, which lasted from 1948-1958. The end of that war did not resolve all the issues facing Colombia however, land reform and political exclusion continued. Leftist guerrilla groups, most notably the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), emerged as a result, and their activities, initially framed as revolutionary movements, escalated into a protracted armed struggle against the Colombian government.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Colombia experienced political turbulence, with clashes between guerrillas, paramilitary groups, and state forces becoming increasingly common. The drug trade, particularly the production and trafficking of cocaine, further exacerbated the conflict by providing a lucrative funding source for armed groups. The 1980s witnessed the rise of powerful drug cartels, such as the Medellín and Cali cartels, which not only fueled violence but also corrupted political institutions and law enforcement.
Various governments attempted to negotiate with guerrilla groups, but these efforts often ended in failure. The situation escalated in the 1990s when paramilitary groups, funded by drug cartels and wealthy landowners, launched brutal campaigns against suspected guerrilla sympathizers, leading to a surge in human rights abuses and civilian casualties. Violence continues today as smaller criminal groups fight each other and the government, and some guerrilla organisations continue to fight. However, the conflict is ongoing at a smaller scale than in the past, as the large organisations such as the Medellín Cartel, FARC, and AUC paramilitaries are either defeated or demobilised.
The human cost of the conflict has been enormous. While security forces and other armed groups suffered high casualties, civilians have been most affected by this conflict. Kidnapping was a common tactic by guerrilla groups, and paramilitaries often targeted civilians they accused of being guerrillas or collaborators. The military also participated in abuses against civilians – the most notable being the false positives scandal, where soldiers killed innocent civilians and then passed them off as dead guerrillas. There was also some collaboration between guerrilla groups and the government, along with drug trafficking organisations. Millions of people have been displaced, kidnapped, killed, or have lost relatives to the conflict.
Peace Efforts:
The road to peace in Colombia has been slow. There have been some successes – the largest and most violent drug cartels in the country were dismantled in the 1990s, as was the AUC paramilitary organisation in the 2000s. The M‑19 guerrilla movement disarmed and became a political party, with Gustavo Petro, a former member of the organisation, currently serving as Colombia’s President. The peace process gained significant momentum with the signing of a historic peace agreement in 2016 between the Colombian government, led by President Juan Manuel Santos, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country’s largest guerrilla group. This landmark accord aimed to address the root causes of the conflict, including social inequality, land distribution, and political representation.
In 2000, the Colombian government, under President Andrés Pastrana, initiated peace talks with the FARC in a demilitarised zone known as “El Caguán.” However, these negotiations eventually broke down. It wasn’t until 2012, during the presidency of Juan Manuel Santos, that significant progress towards peace was made. Santos’s administration engaged in formal peace negotiations with the FARC in Havana, Cuba, ultimately resulting in the signing of the 2016 agreement. One of the most critical aspects of the peace process was the disarmament and demobilisation of FARC combatants. Under the supervision of the United Nations, thousands of guerrilla fighters surrendered their weapons and transitioned back into civilian life, marking a significant shift from armed struggle to peaceful coexistence. This process was not without challenges, as former FARC members faced integration difficulties and concerns about their security in a post-conflict Colombia. Another pivotal element was the establishment of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), a transitional justice system designed to hold both FARC members and state actors accountable for crimes committed during the conflict. The JEP aimed to strike a balance between justice and reconciliation, offering reduced sentences to those who cooperated with the truth commission and acknowledged their wrongdoing. However, this approach faced criticism from some who believed it was too lenient or not sufficiently punitive. The peace process also faced political and societal challenges. A deeply polarised Colombian society grappled with the idea of granting amnesty to former FARC members and allowing them to participate in politics. A national referendum on the peace agreement in 2016 initially failed by a narrow margin, reflecting divisions within the country. However, a revised version of the agreement was subsequently ratified by the Colombian Congress, ensuring its implementation. While the peace agreement with the FARC marked a significant milestone, Colombia’s journey toward lasting peace remains complex. Other armed groups, including the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident FARC factions, continued to engage in violence and illicit activities. Additionally, violence against social leaders, human rights defenders, and former combatants poses a significant challenge to the consolidation of peace. In 2023, cease-fire agreements were reached with the ELN and a FARC dissident group, and there is hope that the Petro administration’s push for “total peace” may result in an end to the political conflict in Colombia.
In the most recent period (2024-2025), new fault-lines have emerged and the peace process faces renewed pressure. Although President Petro’s “total peace” strategy aimed to negotiate with all armed groups, the government formally suspended talks with the ELN in January 2025 following a mass offensive by the group in the Catatumbo region, where at least 80 people were killed and over 32,000 were displaced. The collapse of the truce in Catatumbo between the ELN and dissident FARC factions marked a sharp escalation of violence and cast doubt on the viability of the broader negotiation strategy. Meanwhile, violent activity by FARC dissidents has surged: In August 2025 a drone attack downed a Colombian police helicopter and caused deaths and injuries in the Cauca region, underscoring the reach and lethality of non-state armed actors. At the same time, there are still embryonic peace signals: In April 2025 some FARC dissidents handed over munitions under government-brokered accords and small splinter groups agreed to disarm under the “total peace” framework — though these remain limited in scope and consistency. Analysts caution that Colombia now confronts a dual challenge: consolidating gains from the 2016 FARC agreement, while containing the resurgence of armed violence linked to illegal economies such as coca cultivation, gold-mining, and border trafficking. Without sustained state presence, robust reforms of rural governance and economic inclusion, the foundations of peace remain fragile.
