Ghost of far-right paramilitaries hovers over Colombia’s presidential runoff vote
Summary
Colombia is having a presidential runoff vote between two candidates connected in different ways to paramilitary groups. One candidate favors a return to strong military action against armed groups, while the other supports continuing peace talks aimed at ending violence caused by various armed groups.Key Facts
- Colombia’s long conflict has caused nearly 500,000 deaths over decades.
- Paramilitary groups were formed by right-wing elites to fight left-wing guerrillas and later became involved in drug trafficking.
- Abelardo de la Espriella, a far-right candidate and Trump admirer, started his career defending paramilitary leaders and supports military action.
- Iván Cepeda, a left-wing senator, is a human rights activist whose father was killed by paramilitary-linked army officers; he supports peace negotiations.
- Violence in Colombia has increased since the 2016 peace deal with major rebel groups.
- Current president Gustavo Petro promotes a “total peace” approach to negotiate with all armed groups; Cepeda backs this strategy.
- Paramilitary groups committed severe violence including massacres and torture targeting civilians and groups seen as enemies or undesirable.
- The election result will decide how Colombia deals with ongoing armed violence starting August 7 when the new leader takes office.
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