Colombia's Armed Groups 'Expanding,' Warns Watchdog

Colombia's Ombudsman executive, Iris Marin Ortiz, gestures as she speaks during an interview with AFP at the Ombudsman's headquarters in Bogota on October 6, 2025. The Colombian government gave a “perverse incentive” to FARC guerrillas who broke away from the peace agreement by giving them the same political recognition as those who laid down their arms, the Ombudsman's Office said Monday in an interview with AFP. (Credit: AFP)

Colombia's once-weakened armed groups are growing their power again, the country's ombudswoman told AFP Monday, as the country heads toward its most violent year in a decade.

Fueled by renewed competition over drug trafficking routes, cartels and guerilla groups are cementing their control of pockets of the country outside major cities.