International

Colombia strikes ceasefire deal with main armed groups

| By AFP |

Colombia’s government has agreed to a six-month ceasefire with the five largest armed groups operating in the country, President Gustavo Petro announced on New Year’s Eve.

The truce was the main objective of Petro’s “total peace” policy, which aims to end the armed conflict that has persisted in the country even after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) dissolved in 2017.

The armed groups still operating in Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine producer, are locked in deadly disputes over drug trafficking revenues and other illegal businesses, according to the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz), an independent think tank.

“We have agreed to a bilateral ceasefire with the ELN, the Second Marquetalia, the Central General Staff, the AGC and the Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada from January 1 to June 30, 2023, extendable depending on progress in the negotiations,” Petro tweeted.

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He said there would be a national and international verification mechanism for monitoring progress under what he called the “bold” accord.

Peace talks had been suspended under the government of Ivan Duque (2018-2022), but after Petro came to power on August 7, leading the country’s first leftist government, he resumed negotiations in November.

Up to now the efforts to negotiate with Colombia’s various armed groups — with their combined total of more than 10,000 fighters — have failed to end a spiral of violence engulfing the country. Indepaz recorded nearly 100 massacres last year.

50 years of conflict

The National Liberation Army (ELN), the last recognized insurgency in the country, has been negotiating with the government since November.

On December 19 it announced a unilateral ceasefire to run until January 2. The government then called on other groups to join the truce.

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The Segunda Marquetalia and Central General Staff — splinter factions of FARC that broke from the 2016 peace pact — have held separate exploratory talks with the government.

AGC, the country’s largest drug gang, is made up of remnants of extreme right-wing paramilitaries that demobilized in the early 2000s during the presidency of Alvaro Uribe.

The government is offering the groups “benevolent treatment from the judicial point of view” for the armed actors “in exchange for a surrender of assets, a dismantling of these organizations and the possibility that they stop exercising these illicit economies”, Senator Ivan Cepeda recently told AFP.

Some dissidents refused to lay down their arms alongside their FARC comrades six years ago, when the fearsome rebel army signed the deal with Bogota to end more than five decades of conflict.

Colombia has suffered more than 50 years of armed conflict between the state and various groups of left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers.

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When Petro took power last August, he vowed to negotiate with all Colombian armed groups as part of his “total peace” policy.

But Uribe’s right-wing Democratic Center party dismissed the “total peace” approach as “defending crime and impunity.”

There are currently around 90 political and criminal groups operating in the country, according to Indepaz.

International

U.S. classifies CV and PCC as terrorist groups in major policy shift

The United States government announced on Thursday that it will add the Brazilian criminal organizations Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), a designation set to take effect on June 5, 2026.

The State Department justified the decision by stating that both groups are among the most powerful criminal organizations in Brazil and accused them of coordinating violent attacks against police officers, public officials, and civilians.

The designation comes just days after Brazilian senator and presidential hopeful Flávio Bolsonaro directly asked U.S. President Donald Trump to classify these groups as “narco-terrorist” organizations during a visit to the White House.

Bolsonaro, who is running in Brazil’s upcoming presidential election in October, has made tougher action against organized crime and prison-based gangs a central part of his campaign platform.

He is part of a political dispute with current Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has opposed the U.S. classification, warning it could open the door to potential foreign military intervention in Brazilian territory.

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The Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital emerged in Brazilian prisons during the 1970s and have since expanded their influence, now controlling extensive criminal activities including drug trafficking, extortion, smuggling, and other illicit operations.

According to security experts and Brazilian authorities, both organizations have tens of thousands of members and support networks spread across multiple states in the country.

The U.S. measure aims to increase financial and operational pressure on these groups by restricting funding sources, limiting international mobility, and expanding cooperation in security enforcement efforts.

International

U.S.–Iran pre-agreement aims to de-escalate tensions and secure key trade route

The United States confirmed on Thursday that its negotiators have reached a preliminary agreement with Iran aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and extending the current ceasefire, though the understanding still requires final approval from U.S. President Donald Trump.

U.S. government sources confirmed information first reported exclusively by Axios, stating that the deal now only awaits the president’s endorsement.

According to Axios, citing two senior U.S. officials, the draft agreement stipulates that navigation through the Strait of Hormuz—previously blocked by Iran in response to U.S. and Israeli military actions—would be “unrestricted.”

The agreement reportedly includes provisions under which Iran would not impose transit fees in the strategic waterway, a critical route for global oil shipments. In parallel, the United States would lift maritime restrictions on vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports.

The memorandum of understanding also contains a commitment from Iran not to develop nuclear weapons, a key red line for President Trump. However, discussions on limiting Iran’s uranium enrichment would be postponed to later negotiations.

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These issues are expected to be addressed during a 60-day extension of the ceasefire, which has been in place since April.

In addition, the United States would consider easing sanctions on Iran and releasing frozen Iranian assets as part of the broader diplomatic framework.

Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have intensified over the past week with mediation from Pakistan, as both sides seek to formally end the conflict that began on February 28 involving the United States and Israel.

The White House has recently stated that a deal was “a matter of days away,” while Tehran has tempered expectations, suggesting that an agreement is not yet imminent.

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International

Interpol Operation Leads to 8,700 Arrests and Massive Drug Seizures Across Latin America

Interpol and the Organization of American States (OAS) announced the arrest of more than 8,700 people and the seizure of over 3,300 firearms and 56 tons of illegal drugs across 20 countries in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean following a six-week multinational security operation.

According to a statement released by the OAS, the operation — known as Operation Orca XI — was carried out between October 15 and November 30, 2025, under the coordination of Interpol, with support from the OAS and funding from the European Union.

The operation resulted in 8,701 arrests linked to illegal firearm possession, drug trafficking, and other criminal activities. Authorities also confiscated nearly 200,000 rounds of ammunition, $256,025 in cash, and 210 vehicles connected to criminal operations.

Participating countries additionally reported the seizure of 6.9 tons of cocaine, 659,403 coca plants, 9.3 tons of coca paste, 38.5 tons of marijuana, two tons of methamphetamine, and 11 kilograms of ketamine.

In its statement, the OAS emphasized that illegal arms trafficking in the region is closely tied to other forms of organized crime, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and cybercrime.

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“Criminal organizations behind these crimes often use the same routes for multiple illicit goods,” the organization stated, adding that Operation Orca XI exposed the strong links between these criminal networks.