Colombia's Congress has passed a bill that breaks with the "total peace" policy of former president Gustavo Petro and toughens the terms offered to members of illegal armed groups who hand themselves in, Reuters reported from Bogota on Wednesday, November 4. The bill was proposed by President Abelardo De La Espriella and is one of the first legislative victories for the right-wing president.

Source: Reuters via WIXX

The Senate approved the bill with 57 votes in favour versus 24 against, while the House of Representatives backed it by 95 votes to 10, in sessions that ended late on Tuesday, November 3. The legislation now goes to De La Espriella to be signed into law.

57-24Senate vote in favour of the bill
95-10House of Representatives vote
28,802Estimated members of illegal armed groups in July 2026, up from 15,120 at the end of 2022 (Ministry of Defense)
50%Maximum sentence reduction for members who meet the conditions; 30% for commanders

The legislation bars members of illegal armed groups from holding office or entering into peace negotiations. Instead, in exchange for reduced sentences, they must meet a series of more stringent conditions: lay down their weapons, identify their fellow members, hand over recruited and kidnapped minors, contribute to the search for missing people, surrender assets, and provide information about their political ties and corruption networks.

Sentences can be reduced by up to 50 percent, or 30 percent for commanders, and leaders cannot receive sentences of less than 10 years. The bill does not suspend arrest warrants, extradition or law-enforcement operations against the groups.

Why the Government Pushed the Change

According to Colombia's Ministry of Defense, the number of members of illegal armed groups grew from 15,120 at the end of 2022 to approximately 28,802 in July 2026 — an increase the government has used to argue that the negotiation-first approach failed to shrink the armed groups. De La Espriella campaigned on a promise to end peace negotiations with leftist guerrillas and criminal gangs and to deploy the military against such groups.

The policy he is replacing was the signature security strategy of Petro, Colombia's first leftist president and a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group, who restarted peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) at the end of 2022 under the banner of "total peace" — an attempt to negotiate simultaneously with multiple armed organisations. The new law ends that framework for members who surrender: there will be no negotiated political route and no path to elected office.

What happens next

The bill goes to President De La Espriella for signature. Once signed, surrendering fighters will face the new conditions — weapons, names, assets, minors and information — with sentence cuts capped at 50 percent, and commanders facing at least 10 years. Whether the tougher terms bring more surrenders, or push groups to fight on, will be the first real test of the policy.

What is solid

  • Congress passed the bill: Senate 57-24, House 95-10, in sessions ending late Tuesday (Reuters).
  • The bill bars armed-group members from office and peace negotiations, and sets the listed surrender conditions and sentence-reduction caps (Reuters).
  • Armed-group membership rose from 15,120 at end-2022 to about 28,802 in July 2026, according to the Ministry of Defense figures cited by Reuters.

What is only claimed

  • Whether tougher surrender terms will weaken the armed groups or instead reduce surrenders — the law has not yet been signed or tested, and no outcome can be stated as fact.