Colombian President De La Espriella Officially Ends ‘Total Peace’ Negotiations
In a definitive break from his predecessor’s flagship security policy, Colombia’s President, Abelardo De La Espriella, has officially terminated the main negotiation tables of the so-called “Total Peace” policy. On Saturday, the national government released nine executive resolutions formally closing all dialogue spaces with three major armed factions: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia dissident faction commanded by alias “Calarca,” the border militia known as Comandos de la Frontera, and the paramilitary group Autodefensas Conquistadores de la Sierra Nevada.
The move marks a hardline shift in Colombia’s approach to the myriad of illegal armed groups operating within its borders.
The newly issued resolutions, which dedicate three specific decrees to each closed dialogue space, outline the legal and political justifications for ending the peace talks initiated by former leftist President Gustavo Petro.
Colombia’s illegal groups consistently violated the total Peace policy, deeming them ineligible to continue with peace talks
According to the documents, the executive branch concluded that the armed groups consistently breached established agreements, making it impossible to demonstrate a genuine will for peace or a real commitment to reintegrating into civilian life. The resolutions reiterate that the ultimate constitutional authority over peace processes lies with the president, signaling De La Espriella’s swift action to dismantle a framework his conservative base heavily criticized during the campaign.
Resolution 342 of 2026, which specifically targets the dissident bloc commanded by Calarca, explicitly cites an “absence of will for peace” as the primary reason for terminating the negotiation table. Similar language was applied to the Autodefensas Conquistadores de la Sierra Nevada, with the government decreeing that despite the installation of socio-legal conversation spaces, ongoing violent events had severely weakened the talks, proving a lack of genuine intent to submit to the justice system.
Terrorist commanders stripped of their legally protected status
For the Comandos de la Frontera, the resolutions effectively dissolve their transitional concentration zones, which had originally been established to define a route for their disarmament.
As a direct legal consequence of ending the dialogues, the De La Espriella administration immediately revoked the official recognition of all designated negotiators. On the rebel side, this strips key commanders and armed spokespersons of their protected legal status, effectively turning them back into wanted fugitives.
Simultaneously, the resolutions formally dismiss the state’s negotiating teams, removing the chief government negotiator title from figures like Gloria Quiceno, who led talks with Calarca’s faction, alongside an extensive list of state representatives. Armando Novoa, the former chief negotiator for the Comandos de la Frontera talks, clarified that the decree was largely symbolic in his case, as he had already presented his irrevocable resignation weeks prior to the government’s announcement.