The Gaitanist Military of Colombia (EGC), the nation’s largest legal organisation, has introduced it is going to quickly droop peace talks in Qatar after Colombian President Gustavo Petro reportedly pledged to focus on its chief.
In a social media submit on Wednesday, the EGC, typically known as the Gulf Clan, indicated the suspension would proceed till it acquired updates from the Petro administration.
Really helpful Tales
checklist of three objectsfinish of checklist
“By order of the Joint Chiefs of Employees, the EGC delegation on the negotiating desk will quickly droop talks with the federal government to seek the advice of and make clear the veracity of the data,” the group wrote in an announcement on X.
“If the media stories are true, this could be a violation of excellent religion and the Doha commitments.”
Colombia’s Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed the stories afterward Wednesday, sharing a listing of three drug “kingpins” that Petro’s administration would prioritise as “high-level targets”.
Among the many three targets was the EGC’s chief, Jesus Avila Villadiego, alias Chiquito Malo. A reward for his seize was set at 5 billion Colombian pesos, equal to $1.37m.
The opposite two “kingpins” included prime insurgent commanders recognized solely by their aliases: Ivan Mordisco and Pablito.
The general public announcement echoes a personal one cemented throughout a closed-door assembly on Tuesday on the White Home, when Petro met United States President Donald Trump in particular person for the primary time.
For months, Trump has pressured the Petro administration to take extra “aggressive motion” to fight narcotics trafficking out of Colombia.
In response, Petro and his crew offered the Trump administration on Tuesday with a file on their counter-narcotics operations titled, “Colombia: America’s #1 Ally In opposition to Narcoterrorists”.
The presentation featured statistics on cocaine seizures, programmes to eradicate coca crops, and the high-level arrests and killings of drug lords.
However the dedication to collaborate with the US within the pursuit of Chiquito Malo’s arrest has thrown negotiations with the EGC into peril.
It has additionally raised questions on the way forward for Petro’s signature coverage, “Whole Peace”, which was designed to open talks with insurgent teams and legal networks in an effort to halt Colombia’s six-decade-long inner battle.
The EGC is a serious legal group with nearly 10,000 members, in line with a latest report by the Concepts for Peace Basis.
In December, the US additionally designated the group as a “overseas terrorist organisation”, as a part of its ongoing efforts to crack down on drug trafficking.
The EGC has been engaged in high-level discussions with the Colombian authorities in Doha since September 2025. The 2 events signed a “dedication to peace” on December 5, which outlined a roadmap to the EGC placing down arms.
Step one in the direction of demobilisation was for the group to assemble its forces in momentary zones, starting in March. The federal government had suspended arrest warrants in December for EGC commanders, together with Chiquito Malo, who have been as a consequence of transfer to those areas.
However the authorities’s plans to detain the drug lord, declared yesterday on the White Home, destabilised this course of, in line with analysts.
“[The EGC] interpret this as a direct risk the place, if any commander who has arrest warrants … goes to the momentary zones, he runs a excessive threat,” mentioned Gerson Arias, a battle and safety investigator on the Concepts for Peace Basis, a Bogota-based suppose tank.
The Colombian Supreme Court docket in January permitted Chiquito Malo’s extradition to the US within the eventuality of his seize, however the ultimate resolution to extradite him resides with the president.
By declaring the drug lord a “goal” on the White Home, Petro signalled assist for capturing and extraditing the EGC commander.
Potential US involvement within the operation additionally seems to have unsettled the legal organisation, in line with consultants.
“It is rather totally different for Chiquito Malo to be pursued solely by the Colombian authorities than for him to grow to be a goal of joint strategic worth involving US intelligence,” mentioned Laura Bonilla, a deputy director on the Peace and Reconciliation Basis, a Colombian suppose tank.
Though the EGC suspended its peace talks on Wednesday, it harassed that it remained open to resuming negotiations.
“It ought to be clarified that the suspension is momentary, not everlasting, which signifies that they [the talks] will resume shortly,” a lawyer for the group informed Al Jazeera, on situation of anonymity.
The consultant added that, for talks to proceed, the EGC requires that “authorized and private safety ensures” and “the commitments agreed upon in Doha, Qatar, are fulfilled”.
