Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, has issued a decree giving himself emergency powers to restore order in the rural Catatumbo region. The decree provides the president with up to 270 days to impose curfews, restrict traffic and take other steps that would normally violate Colombians’ civil rights or require congressional approval.
The region to which the decree applies is at Colombia’s northeastern border with Venezuela. An area which has seen a recent surge in violence between National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels and groups from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), as they battle for control of drug-trafficking routes.
At least 80 people have been killed, and more than 32,000 have been forced to flee their homes in recent weeks, according to rights groups. Residents have said the armed groups are going door-to-door and launching indiscriminate attacks.
Last week, Petro’s government announced it was suspending peace talks with the ELN due to the uptick in violence in Catatumbo.
The left-wing president, who took office in 2022, had pledged to bring “total peace” to the South American country after a decades-long conflict between the state, paramilitaries and rebel groups.
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