Colombia Election: Crime and Violence
The Spin
Right narrative
Petro's so-called "Total Peace" was an operational disaster fueled by ideological blindness. Unconditional ceasefires gave armed groups time, territory and impunity, while members of the left in power purged senior military officers and politicized intelligence. Violence has surged and is now shaping the elections themselves as citizens can't vote freely under the shadow of the gun. Colombia needs investment in its security forces and a hardline approach that puts criminals on the defensive again.
Left narrative
Blaming Petro alone is convenient amnesia from those who built the conditions for permanent war. A succession of right-wing governments oversaw the greatest expansion of armed groups' territorial control, the massacre of social leaders and a counter-reform that stripped rural communities of land. The right's own narrative erasing state responsibility and delegitimizing negotiations is precisely what has made any serious peace policy impossible before it begins.
Narrative C
Both total peace and hardline approaches have failed to secure order in Colombia as armed groups have managed to expand under ceasefire but also under military pressure, with the Clan del Golfo becoming the country's most powerful armed group without ever sitting at a negotiating table. As currently conceived, neither approach is able to tackle the issue — and no one has answered what comes next.
The Controversies
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