COLOMBIA

In 2025, Colombia continues to face multifaceted violence despite the pacification efforts initiated by President Gustavo Petro since taking office. The country remains fragmented among various armed actors: the ELN (National Liberation Army), FARC dissident groups, criminal gangs (bacrims), and drug cartels, all competing for territorial control and trafficking routes.

Despite a partial ceasefire signed in 2023 with the ELN, hostilities have intermittently resumed in certain regions, particularly in the departments of Arauca, Chocó, and Cauca. Negotiations are ongoing in 2025 but are regularly undermined by ceasefire violations and internal divisions within the ELN.

FARC dissidents have strengthened their military presence in several rural areas, notably in the south (Guaviare, Caquetá, Putumayo), and have resumed attacks against public forces. These groups are financed through extortion, illegal mining, and above all, cocaine trafficking. Risks of kidnapping, extortion, threats, and surveillance of individuals perceived as hostile are real in these territories.
Major cities such as Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali remain relatively safe in central and tourist areas, but high levels of urban crime persist, including theft, assaults, and targeted kidnappings. Acts of violence against journalists, community leaders, and environmental defenders are regularly reported.

Migration flows from Venezuela continue to place pressure on Colombia’s social infrastructure. Around 2.9 million Venezuelans now reside in the country, often with precarious legal status, which locally fuels economic, health, and security-related tensions.
The militarisation of certain rural areas to secure mining, energy, or infrastructure projects continues to provoke tensions with local populations — often indigenous or Afro-descendant — who denounce violations of their fundamental rights.

Colombia remains the world’s leading producer of cocaine, with production rising in 2024. The government has shifted its strategy from forced eradication to alternative development, but results remain limited. Trafficking networks, now highly internationalised, have strengthened the influence of Mexican cartels within the country.

Risks for travellers include kidnapping, extortion, urban crime, and attacks in rural areas. Travel should be strictly managed, particularly outside major urban centres and in all border areas — especially those near Venezuela, Panama, and Ecuador.