UMVA has learned that Colombia’s looming presidential election is unfolding under a cloud of escalating violence and humanitarian distress in its most conflict‑scarred regions.
Human rights defenders, analysts and community leaders warn that despite temporary ceasefires declared by the ELN and several FARC dissident factions, the specter of intimidation, road blockades and armed attacks still looms large for voters in remote municipalities.
Lina Mejía, coordinator of a local humanitarian group, described the stakes as far beyond ballot boxes: “We must ask whether armed groups will honor the vote, protect electoral materials from post‑election reprisals, and allow communities to move freely without fear of intimidation.”
The pattern is familiar: armed groups often avoid direct assaults on polling stations, yet the broader security climate—shaped by control over coca farms, illegal mining and extortion—continues to jeopardize the entire electoral process.
According to the Electoral Observation Mission, 386 municipalities across 31 departments now carry a heightened risk rating linked to armed violence, a sharp rise from earlier assessments. Regions such as Catatumbo, Cauca, Meta and Guaviare have been singled out for urgent protective measures.
Just days ago, a three‑hour clash in Guaviare claimed the lives of at least 50 fighters from rival FARC dissident factions, reigniting old wounds left by the 2016 peace accord that many former guerrillas rejected.
In the border zone of Catatumbo, the ELN and the Frente 33 dissident group have been trading fire for months, keeping the area volatile and leaving civilians caught in the crossfire.
The murder of social leader Freiman Velásquez, his sister and two bodyguards in Tibú—an attack attributed to the ELN—has further shattered any lingering trust in ceasefires.
Yet some residents cling to a sliver of hope. “When voting day arrives, armed actors usually respect the process,” says Carmen Garcia, a community organizer who rescues youth from recruitment. “But after recent killings, that confidence has eroded.”
Garcia explains that the recent ceasefire, slated to begin Saturday afternoon and extend beyond election day, feels hollow to many who have seen promises broken time and again.
Violence has surged dramatically, with more than 350 incidents recorded in the first five months of 2026 alone—ranging from homicides and forced mobility restrictions to the deadly spread of anti‑personnel mines and improvised explosive devices.
In Caquetá, a dissident faction’s audio proclamation of an armed strike across river basins sparked panic, halting road and river traffic and forcing residents to carry identification issued by the group under threat of violence.
Although the strike dissolved after a few days, the Ombudsman’s Office warned that such intimidation tactics signal a deepening pattern of territorial domination by armed actors, echoing similar strikes that have crippled movement in Putumayo and Amazonas since late 2025.
Humanitarian groups are now pleading for swift, decisive action to secure the transport of electoral materials and the establishment of rural polling stations, insisting that only a truly free and peaceful vote can begin to restore hope in these war‑torn communities.
