Colombia vowed "war" against left-wing guerrillas Monday, declaring a state of emergency and deploying thousands of soldiers to contain a wave of violence that has killed more than 100 people and threatens to scupper the country's fragile peace process, SİA reports citing Le Monde.
In just five days, bloodshed has been reported across three Colombian departments – from the remote Amazon jungle in the south to the mountainous northeastern border with Venezuela, where fighting has displaced 11,000 people.
In a message on X Petro said that he will “declare a state of internal commotion," a measure that enables the executive branch to pass certain kinds of legislation without congressional approval for three months. The measure will go into effect after a decree is signed by the President and his Cabinet, but it can also be invalidated by Colombia's constitutonal court.
Analysts say the spasm of violence was caused by a turf war between rival militias, who see the faltering peace process as a threat to their unity and their profits from the ultra-lucrative cocaine trade.
President Gustavo Petro, who until now had staked his political fortunes on a strategy of de-escalation and dialogue, signaled the crisis would cause a shift in approach. On Monday, he issued a defiant warning to leaders of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, which is said to have been behind border region attacks on rival leftist groups, killing 80 people.
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