Colombia suspends ceasefire with drug cartel
President Gustavo Petro suspended a ceasefire with Colombia's largest drug trafficking organization on Sunday, accusing it of attacking civilians.
"I have directed that all military operations against the Gulf Clan be resumed," he said on Twitter.
"I will not allow them to continue sowing fear and distress in the communities," Petro added.
According to the government, the clan has been harassing and attacking people in northwest Colombia for the past two weeks.
Petro's government declared a bilateral ceasefire with several armed groups, including the Gulf Clan, National Liberation Army rebels, and former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas, just before the new year.
It was the first step in leftist Petro's "total peace" plan to end decades of armed conflict through negotiations with criminal groups, as opposed to his conservative predecessor Ivan Duque's hardline approach.
However, the policy encountered difficulties almost immediately.
The Marxist ELN denied signing the agreement, while the government claims that FARC dissidents violated it numerous times.
According to the government, the Gulf Clan has been supporting attacks by illegal gold miners in Antioquia's Bajo Cauca area since March 2.
Workers in illegal mines have been protesting the destruction of heavy machinery used to dredge up soil in search of gold by the government.
In the Caucasia district, miners have shut down roads and attacked a town hall and a bank.
According to authorities, criminal groups in Colombia make nearly as much money from illegal mining as they do from cocaine trafficking.
The Gulf Clan is made up of former right-wing paramilitaries who were disbanded as part of a 2006 peace deal negotiated by then-President Alvaro Uribe, which Petro considers a failure.
According to official estimates, the Clan is responsible for between 30 and 60% of all cocaine exported from Colombia, the world's largest producer.
Opposition parties and some experts argue that the security forces were at a disadvantage during the ceasefire with the Gulf Clan and the rebels, claiming that only the government side abided by the agreement.
"There was never a bilateral ceasefire with the Gulf Clan," said Federico Gutierrez, a right-wing former presidential candidate.
It was "grossly irresponsible" to leave the civilian population defenseless for so long, he said.
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