Protests Continue to Destabilize Colombia
Bottom Line Up Front Protests in Colombia, South America’s oldest democracy, have been relatively under reported upon in the international media. The protesters are […] More
FARC
Colombia Facing Growing Wave of Popular Protests
Bottom Line Up Front The protests in Colombia are driven by myriad issues—corruption, stagnant wages, grievances related to human rights, and a stalled peace […] More
Challenges in Transitioning From Violence to Politics
Bottom Line Up Front Shortly after being released from prison, Seuxis Pausias Hernandez, a former commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) […] More
Blast from the Past: The Challenge of Splinter Groups and Generational Terror
Bottom Line Up Front On January 19, a car bomb exploded in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, believed to be the work of the New IRA. […] More
The Latest
There Will Never Be a Perfect Peace in Colombia
After the surprising results of the Colombian peace referendum on Sunday night, both the government of Colombia and the FARC must try again to reach […] More
Is Peace Possible in Colombia?
On Sunday, Colombians were called upon by their government to answer a simple question, “Do you support the final agreement to end the conflict and […] More
Back to Square One
Colombia’s pollsters, who are usually pretty accurate predictors of vote results, didn’t foresee this. Public opinion surveys showed a clear majority of voters in the […] More
The Stalking Horse
The unexpected vote in Colombia to reject the peace deal with the FARC has left the country in shock and its leaders scrambling to determine […] More
Challenges Remain After Colombia, FARC Rebels Reach Ceasefire
The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas this week signed an historic ceasefire, bringing the two sides one step closer […] More
Cocaine and Conflict in Colombia
For a very long time, the word that most often followed a mention of Colombia was cocaine. Colombia was the world’s largest producer of the […] More
The Fall and Rise of Cocaine
In 1992, Peru produced an estimated 60 percent of the world’s cocaine. At one time, cocaine production was the largest industry in the country, at […] More
A First Hand View of Campesinos and the War on Drugs
My name is Pedro José Arenas Garcia. I am a former Colombian congressman and the director of the Observatory on Growers and Crops Declared Illicit […] More
Will There Be Peace in Colombia?
The government of president Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) have been negotiating in Havana, Cuba for the past four […] More
Post-Conflict Colombia: It's Complicated
In light of the announcement by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos of a signed peace deal between the government of Colombia and the FARC, The […] More
The Difficult Road Ahead for Colombia
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos will not be pressured into signing a final peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). “I will […] More
It's Complicated
Since 1982, Colombia’s government and the FARC guerrilla group have sat down to negotiate four times. This attempt appears to be the one that will […] More
Colombia: Peace Deal in Jeopardy
The plan to sign a peace agreement early next year to end the more than 50-year civil war in Colombia appears to be in jeopardy. […] More
On Post-Conflict Colombia
Last month, The Cipher Brief published a feature commentary on the prospects for peace in Colombia. This month, we continue that conversation with Frank Mora, […] More
Will Peace Talks Succeed in Colombia?
Colombia is not a “typical” Latin American country. It diverges from common views of the region in ways that are interesting and important. It […] More