Search

Colombia prepares to go to polls in election shadowed by resurgence of political violence

Farc](https://www.theguardian.com/world/farc) dissident groups, known as the 36th Front. ![Jesús Abad Colorado speaks into a microphone as he stands next to a table with photographs of Mateo Pérez Rueda and a Colombian flag

Colombian election reflects on ‘total peace’ promise as violence surges again

Colombia (Farc) agreed to lay down their weapons, and the violence that had racked the country was substantially reduced. But the deal alone could not end the decades-long armed conflict for good. Subsequent administrations

Violence escalates in Colombia with dozens of attacks before presidential vote

dissident groups of the former FARC rebels. **Santiago Saldarriaga/AP** Santiago Saldarriaga/AP BOGOTA, Colombia — A spate of attacks against civilians and military bases in Colombia's southwestern region has raised security concerns as the country heads

Bomb blast on Colombia highway leaves at least 20 dead ahead of May elections

dissident faction of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) that operates in the region. A bomb attack on Friday on a military base in Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, injured

At least 20 killed in Colombia highway blast

violence,” Joao Valencia, 42, a relative of a woman killed in the attack, told the AFP news agency, holding up her picture. “These kinds of women should die of old age, not have their lives

Drones reshape war in Colombia as deaths and injuries mount

violence is once again on the rise. Armed groups have expanded their ranks, tightened their grip on drug routes and illegal mining, and sought to fill power vacuums left by demobilised forces. They are also

Two presidential campaign staffers killed in Colombia as elections near

Violence and [surging crime](/news/2026/5/12/red-cross-says-people-displaced-by-conflict-in-colombia-doubled-last-year) have featured prominently in the presidential race to replace the country’s first leftist leader, Gustavo Petro. The frontrunner in the presidential race, left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda, has promised