Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced the suspension of ongoing peace talks with a key rebel faction, marking a major setback in his campaign against drug-linked armed groups. The decision comes as Petro nears the end of his term, with only four months remaining, and after limited progress toward his goal of securing peace agreements with various factions involved in the cocaine trade.

Since 2023, Petro had been negotiating with a dissident faction of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), led by a commander known as Calarca. The group, called EMDF, had rejected the 2016 peace accord. On the same day, Colombia’s largest drug-trafficking organization, Clan del Golfo, also ruled out the possibility of a peace deal with Petro, further complicating the situation.

Both negotiation tracks were central to Petro’s “Total Peace” initiative, aimed at reducing violence in the world’s largest cocaine-producing nation. However, the Calarca-led faction has reportedly continued attacks on security forces and civilians in border and Amazon regions, undermining the peace process.