Uribe Shooting: Impact on Colombia Peace Process
- Doris Suárez Guzmán, a former guerrilla fighter, expresses reservations about the current state of colombia's peace process.
- The 2016 peace deal saw former FARC combatants transition into civilian life, with some elected to Congress and others pursuing higher education.
- President Gustavo Petro, himself a former guerrilla, pledged to pursue "total peace" upon taking office in 2022.
Colombia’s peace process faces significant hurdles despite President Petro’s “total peace” initiative, which aims to extend beyond the 2016 FARC agreement. Progress is slow, and violence persists, even though the goverment implements social programs to curb criminal activity; these efforts have shown limited success. News Directory 3 reports that former guerrillas face threats,and many commitments from the original accord remain unfulfilled. Explore the challenges to the process, including the struggle to reintegrate former combatants, and also the pivotal role civil society plays. Discover what’s next for Colombia’s journey toward peace.
Colombia’s “Total Peace” Initiative Faces Complex Challenges
Updated June 11, 2025
Doris Suárez Guzmán, a former guerrilla fighter, expresses reservations about the current state of colombia’s peace process. Guzmán was among roughly 13,000 members of the Revolutionary armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who signed a peace agreement with the government in 2016, marking a pivotal moment in the nation’s history.
The 2016 peace deal saw former FARC combatants transition into civilian life, with some elected to Congress and others pursuing higher education. Many, like Suárez Guzmán, established businesses and civil society organizations, contributing to Colombia’s evolving social fabric.
President Gustavo Petro, himself a former guerrilla, pledged to pursue “total peace” upon taking office in 2022. This initiative aimed to address conflicts involving organized crime and other insurgencies, extending beyond the scope of the FARC agreement. However, progress has been slow.
A report by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame revealed that only one-third of the commitments outlined in the original 2016 peace agreement had been fully implemented by November 2023. Petro’s ambitious “total peace” experiment has yet to fully realize its intended goals.
While many former guerrillas have successfully reintegrated into society, nearly 500 have been killed, largely due to their past affiliations with the FARC. This violence casts a shadow over the peace process, raising concerns about the safety and security of those who embraced the agreement.
“What confidence will [other armed groups] have” to build peace, if they see people like her, who signed on for it, living in fear? Suárez Guzmán asks.
According to Ms. Castillo, a former government worker, Petro’s approach to these complex negotiations lacks the necessary technical depth and tailored strategies for each group. Many criminal organizations thrive on illicit economies such as drug trafficking and illegal mining. Those who wish to demobilize face limited opportunities and societal stigma.
Leonardo González Perafán, director of Indepaz, colombia’s Institute for Progress and Peace Studies, said, “If you want a country in peace, you have to speak with everyone.”
Mariano Aguirre, associate fellow at Chatham House and former senior adviser on peace-building at the United Nations in Colombia, added, “A good negotiation is not enough…You need to implement change.”
Is peace any closer?
Despite ongoing violence and slow reforms, the Colombian government has implemented social programs aimed at disincentivizing criminal activity, though with limited effects on violence. These include cash transfers to youth to stay out of gangs, or a new coca crop substitution program that pays farmers to stop growing illicit crops.
Civil society has played an important role,too,pushing peace from the ground up.
La Trocha, which hosts around 400 patrons weekly, exemplifies this grassroots movement. Former fighters promote peace and leftist ideals through education, social events, and job creation, benefiting both ex-combatants and victims of the conflict.
Ms. Suárez, who once fought in Antioquia’s mountains for her leftist ideals, said, “We shouldn’t be killing each other over ideas.” She now expresses concern about political polarization.
Ms. suárez, who spent 16 years behind bars before signing the peace deal, says she understands both the cost of war and the payoff that can come with a life in peace. Peace, so far, has not worked the way she imagined it woudl for her, but, despite the ongoing challenges, she’s putting her faith in it for now as the only viable path forward.
She said,“I thoght I was going to die in prison…Every day since has been a celebration.”