The Colombian armed conflict is generally dated from 1964, when the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) emerged out of rural unrest following the earlier civil violence known as La Violencia (roughly 1948–1958). Over time the conflict drew in additional guerrilla movements such as the EPL and M-19, right-wing paramilitary federations—most prominently the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), formed in 1997—and powerful drug-trafficking organizations whose revenues financed all sides.
The war is characterized by a mix of insurgency, counterinsurgency, narcotics trafficking, kidnapping, forced displacement, landmine use, and massacres of civilians. Colombia's official victims' registry, established under the Victims and Land Restitution Law (Ley 1448 of 2011), has recorded several million registered victims, and the country has long had one of the world's largest populations of internally displaced persons.
Major turning points include:
- The M-19 demobilization and 1991 Constitution process.
- Plan Colombia, launched in 2000 under Presidents Andrés Pastrana and Bill Clinton, which expanded U.S. military and counter-narcotics assistance.
- The AUC demobilization under the Justice and Peace Law (Ley 975 of 2005) during the Álvaro Uribe government.
- The Havana peace talks between the government of Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC, which produced the Final Agreement signed on 24 November 2016 in Bogotá's Teatro Colón after an initial version was narrowly rejected in an October 2016 plebiscite.
The 2016 accord created transitional justice institutions, notably the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), the Truth Commission (which delivered its final report in 2022), and a unit to search for disappeared persons. Implementation remains contested: dissident FARC factions, the ELN, and successor criminal groups (often labeled Grupos Armados Organizados) continue to operate, and the Gustavo Petro government since 2022 has pursued a "Total Peace" (Paz Total) policy of parallel negotiations with remaining armed actors.
Example
In November 2016, President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC commander Rodrigo Londoño ("Timochenko") signed a revised peace accord in Bogotá, formally ending more than five decades of war between the Colombian state and the FARC.
Frequently asked questions
It has not fully ended. The 2016 Final Agreement demobilized the FARC, but the ELN, FARC dissident factions, and other armed groups remain active, and the Petro government continues negotiations under its 'Total Peace' policy.
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