Key facts
- Colombia's Senate approved the bill 57 votes to 24 and the House of Representatives 95 votes to 10 in sessions that ended late on Tuesday.
- The bill bars members of illegal armed groups from holding office or entering into peace negotiations.
- Under the bill, sentences can be reduced by up to 50%, or 30% for commanders, and leaders cannot receive sentences of less than 10 years.
- The legislation does not suspend arrest warrants, extradition or law enforcement operations.
- According to the Ministry of Defense, the number of members of illegal armed groups grew from 15,120 at the end of 2022 to approximately 28,802 in July 2026.
- The bill now goes to President Abelardo De La Espriella to be signed into law.
Colombia's Congress passed a bill proposed by President Abelardo De La Espriella that breaks with the "total peace" policy of former president Gustavo Petro, toughening the terms offered to members of illegal armed groups who hand themselves in. The Senate approved the bill with 57 votes in favor versus 24 against, while the House of Representatives backed it by 95 votes to 10 in sessions that ended late on Tuesday. The legislation now goes to De La Espriella to be signed into law.
The bill bars members of illegal armed groups from holding office or entering into peace negotiations. In exchange for reduced sentences, they must meet a series of more stringent conditions, from identifying fellow members to surrendering assets. Under the bill, they must lay down their weapons, identify their members, hand over recruited and kidnapped minors, contribute to the search for missing people, surrender assets and provide information about their political ties and corruption networks. Sentences can be reduced by up to 50%, or 30% for commanders, and leaders cannot receive sentences of less than 10 years. The legislation does not suspend arrest warrants, extradition or law enforcement operations.
The initiative is one of the first legislative victories for the right-wing president, who during his election campaign promised to end peace negotiations with leftist guerrillas and criminal gangs and deploy the military against such groups. De La Espriella's government has argued that Petro's peace negotiations, which included the suspension of arrest warrants and ceasefires, allowed armed groups to expand their ranks and hold over strategic areas for drug trafficking and illegal mining.
Towards the end of his term in office, Petro acknowledged that his plan for "total peace" was not fully achieved, but pointed to the reduction in homicides across the country. According to the Ministry of Defense, the number of members of illegal armed groups in Colombia grew from 15,120 at the end of 2022 to approximately 28,802 in July 2026. Petro, Colombia's first leftist president and a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group, restarted peace talks with the National Liberation Army at the end of 2022 as part of his broader efforts to usher in total peace and end the country's six-decade conflict, which has killed more than 450,000 people. However, Petro was unable to deliver on his pledge because the talks produced few tangible results.