Conflict & Security
Former FARC leader warns against threats to Colombia peace process
Former FARC commander Rodrigo Londono warned that hostile rhetoric against former guerrillas could help fuel new violence in Colombia after president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella vowed to jail him and roll back part of the country's 2016 peace deal.
Londono, also known as Timochenko, said former guerrilla leaders had written to De la Espriella to recognize his recent election victory and seek talks. He said former FARC leaders remained committed to the peace agreement and wanted to discuss its implementation with the incoming government, which is due to take office on August 7.
De la Espriella had called Londono a war criminal and said he deserved life in prison. In a video released Monday, he said Londono should be imprisoned for life. The president-elect has also promised to end talks with dissident groups, bomb drug-running guerrillas and scrap a tribunal created to judge crimes from Colombia's long civil war. He says the tribunal allowed former FARC leaders to avoid punishment.
Londono said continuing stigmatization of former guerrillas, along with what he called messages of hate, risked generating violence. He said people with prominent platforms were spreading such messages and that this put everyone at risk.
In a letter addressed to De la Espriella, Londono and six other former FARC leaders urged him to respect the peace process. They said they reaffirmed their commitment to honor the 2016 accord and hoped the Colombian state would meet its own commitments.
De la Espriella, a hard-right politician, won last month's runoff by less than one percentage point. He previously called for the left to be "gutted" but later moderated his language. Defeated leftist candidate Ivan Cepeda has warned that he will reject any attempt at authoritarian subjugation under the incoming administration.
Londono received a non-prison sentence last year of eight years of community work as reparations for more than 21,000 kidnappings committed during the FARC's decades-long insurgency. He said the 2016 agreement had flaws, but argued that dialogue was needed for opposing sides to address their differences and work toward peace.
Update
Rodrigo Londono said former guerrilla leaders had written to president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella to recognize his election victory and seek talks.
Londono and six other former FARC leaders urged De la Espriella to respect Colombia's peace process and said they remained committed to the 2016 accord.
De la Espriella said in a video released Monday that Londono deserved life imprisonment.
De la Espriella has promised to end talks with dissident groups, bomb drug-running guerrillas, and scrap the tribunal created to judge crimes from Colombia's civil war.
De la Espriella won last month's runoff by less than one percentage point.
Defeated leftist candidate Ivan Cepeda warned that he would reject any attempt at authoritarian subjugation.
Londono received an eight-year non-prison community work sentence last year as reparations for more than 21,000 kidnappings committed during the FARC insurgency.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 July 2026 at 01:31:46 UTC.
Update
Former FARC leaders wrote to president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella recognizing his election victory and seeking talks, according to Rodrigo Londono.
De la Espriella had called Londono a war criminal and said he deserved life in prison, according to the report.
De la Espriella has promised to end talks with dissident groups, bomb drug-running guerrillas and scrap tribunals that he says allowed former FARC leaders to avoid punishment.
Londono said former FARC leaders remain committed to the peace deal and want to discuss its implementation with the incoming government.
The incoming government is due to take office on August 7.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 July 2026 at 00:58:03 UTC.
Update
The former FARC commander is identified as Rodrigo Londono, also known as Timochenko.
Londono said messages of hate could fuel violence.
Londono said former guerrilla leaders had written to Abelardo de la Espriella recognizing his election victory and seeking dialogue over the peace accord.
The source describes de la Espriella as a right-wing leader.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 July 2026 at 00:41:18 UTC.
Update
A leading former Colombian guerrilla warned that violence could follow the president-elect's threat.
Source note: AFP news report published on 15 July 2026 at 00:28:18 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source reports warnings about possible renewed violence but does not report that new violence has occurred as a result of the statements.
Source
AFP news report published on .