Colombian President Gustavo Petro has suspended a ceasefire with the country’s largest drug cartel. The gang allegedly attacked villagers in the northwest. “I will not allow them to spread fear and terror in the communities,” Petro said.
He instructed the security forces to “resume all military operations against the Gulf clan,” the president wrote on Twitter on Sunday. According to the government, the clan is said to have supported illegal gold mining in the Bajo Cauca area. Since early March, prospectors have blocked roads and attacked a town hall and a bank. It was used by workers in illegal gold mines to protest the government’s destruction of heavy machinery.
Mining brings in a lot of money
In Colombia, criminal gangs earn almost as much money from illegal mining as from the cocaine trade. The country is the world’s largest producer of cocaine, with the Gulf clan reportedly responsible for 30 to 60 percent of drug exports.
Late last year, the government declared a ceasefire with several armed groups, including the Gulf clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the disbanded left-wing rebel organization FARC. The move was intended as part of a “comprehensive peace plan” to end decades of armed conflict through negotiations. However, this caused problems for the police. The ELN denied the existence of the ceasefire, after which the government suspended the ceasefire regarding this group.
Source: Krone
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