After a promising decline in landmine incidents, Colombia is once again facing a surge in these explosive devices.

This grim reality was made evident in late January when the army seized more than 2,600 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), including landmines belonging to the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN) in Tibú, in the Catatumbo region. Just days earlier, authorities had confiscated 300 landmines in the same area from FARC dissidents. Roads, rural paths, and farms in the region have become impassable.

The increase in demining efforts, landmine seizures, and suspected minefields reported by Colombian authorities in 2024 underscores that, despite the historic decline in landmine use since the 2016 Peace Agreement, criminal groups in the country continue to deploy these devices in their territorial disputes.

Throughout 2024, Colombia’s Office of the High Commissioner for Peace reported 998 incidents related to anti-personnel mines (APMs) and unexploded ordnance (UXO), including demining activities, reports of suspected minefields, and the seizure of these devices, most of which were handmade.

These figures represent an over 11% increase compared to the previous year, which saw 896 incidents. The upward trend has continued since 2021, when 316 incidents were recorded, followed by 412 in 2022. Experts consulted by InSight Crime agree that no single factor explains this surge.

A staggering 94% of the reported incidents were related to demining operations. Increased military activity in strategic areas and greater accessibility to former conflict zones—once heavily mined during the war between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) and the state before the 2016 Peace Agreement—account for many of these cases. However, other areas remain inaccessible to both military and humanitarian demining operations due to the control exerted by armed groups.

In Cauca and Nariño, the number of incidents surpassed those recorded immediately after the Peace Agreement: 58 and 69 incidents, respectively, that year. A similar trend has been seen in other departments with lower historical mine activity, such as Guaviare, Casanare, Bolívar, and Cesar.

Although Colombia signed the Ottawa Treaty banning the use and destruction of anti-personnel mines in 1997, it wasn’t until 2016 that the country’s largest guerrilla group and primary user of landmines—the FARC—committed to demining efforts as part of their demobilization.

“In the years following the Peace Agreement, the impact of landmines had dropped dramatically. Now, we are seeing figures reminiscent of the early post-agreement period, with the added problem that today, civilians are more affected than military personnel,” said Camilo Serna, director of the Colombian Campaign Against Mines (Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas), in an interview with InSight Crime.

Below are the three main reasons why landmine use has resurged in Colombia.

1. Criminal Disputes

Military pressure and ongoing territorial disputes in an increasingly fragmented criminal landscape have led some armed groups to resume planting landmines.

In Arauca, bordering Venezuela, authorities reported 101 incidents, mostly in the municipalities of Arauquita and Puerto Rondón, where the ELN’s Eastern War Front (Frente de Guerra Oriental) and the FARC dissidents’ 10th and 28th Fronts operate.

In Cauca and Nariño, key departments for coca cultivation, cocaine production, and trafficking corridors to Ecuador, 142 and 318 incidents were recorded, respectively. Most incidents occurred in the municipalities of Argelia and Tumaco, where FARC dissident factions and the ELN are locked in violent battles for control of these illicit economies.

SEE ALSO: BACRIM Turn to Landmines in Colombia

“Today, armed groups are fighting each other and using landmines against one another. It is no longer a tactical tool primarily used against government troops moving through an area,” Serna explained.

In Catatumbo, a strategic border region with Venezuela, the ELN’s Northeastern War Front (Frente de Guerra Nororiental) has been clashing with the FARC dissidents’ 33rd Front since early January. Landmine use in this area has also prevented authorities from conducting demining operations for years.

According to Colombia’s Deputy Inspector General for Peace Agreement Monitoring, Javier Sarmiento, who has been tracking the humanitarian crisis in Catatumbo, the presence of landmines has made it impossible for over 50,000 displaced people to return home safely.

In other strategic regions for organized crime—such as Chocó, Cauca, and Arauca—increased military presence and demining operations have prompted armed groups to use more explosives to defend their territories.

2. The Fragmentation of FARC Dissidents

In 2024, Colombian authorities attributed 618 landmine-related incidents to the various dissident factions of the FARC. These figures, alongside those from 2023 (638 incidents), mark the highest landmine use by these groups since the Peace Agreement. Before then, FARC dissidents had never been linked to more than 222 such incidents in a single year.

The fragmentation of these groups—previously divided between the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) and Segunda Marquetalia but now splintering even further—has fueled clashes where landmines are a key battlefield tactic.

The ELN, a long-time user of landmines, was responsible for 164 of the incidents recorded in 2024.

Beyond the ELN and FARC dissidents, other armed groups were responsible for 47 landmine-related incidents in 2024—the highest number ever recorded for this category.

SEE ALSO: Gaitanistas Landmines are Guerrilla Tactic from Colombia’s Dark Past

Among them, the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC) stand out. Though they typically use direct armed force to exert control, their increasing involvement in landmine incidents suggests knowledge transfer. Following the FARC’s demobilization, some former guerrilla fighters were recruited by the AGC, bringing new tactics to the group’s military operations.

Disputed territories—where the ELN, FARC dissidents, and AGC are vying for control—are the main hotspots for landmine replanting in Colombia.

3. The Rise of IEDs

IEDs can be built using easily accessible materials, some of which have become more durable. Technological innovations, such as the use of PVC tubes, have extended the lifespan of these devices by better protecting the internal ignition mechanisms, which may include electronic triggers or more sophisticated pressure-activated systems.

“It is now extremely difficult to control because numerous groups and individuals know how to build both command-detonated improvised explosive devices and victim-activated landmines,” an anti-personnel mine expert told InSight Crime on the condition of anonymity for security reasons.

In the end, the combination of ongoing armed group conflicts, tactical knowledge transfer between the key former FARC factions at the heart of the conflict, and the ease of manufacturing these devices has severely hindered Colombia’s demining efforts.

This article, written by Beatriz Vicent Fernández, was originally published by InSight Crime, a Medellín-based foundation dedicated to the investigation and analysis of crime and security in Colombia and Latin America. It has been generously shared with Finance Colombia under a Creative Commons license.

A series of recent arrests related to private security companies in Colombia shows how some of these businesses operate as extensions of organized crime and exposes yet another nexus between security forces and the criminal world.

As part of a joint security operation with prosecutors and other government officials at the end of February, Colombia’s national police seized 100 weapons, and eight properties, and arrested three legal representatives of several private security companies. A former colonel and captain in the country’s police force were detained. Both now face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and illegal enrichment.

Authorities targeted three security companies that allegedly facilitated access to weapons and provided bodyguard licenses to members of criminal groups operating across various departments and the cities of Bogotá, Neiva, Ibagué, Puerto Triunfo, and Villavicencio.

SEE ALSO: How Ecuador’s Criminals Are Taking Advantage of Private Security Firms

During a March 10 cabinet meeting, President Gustavo Petro questioned the irregularities within the private security industry that allow these practices to occur.

“Criminals are being given a free pass,” he said during the meeting. “The owners of security companies are paramilitaries and drug traffickers, sometimes ex-military and ex-police officers.”

The Colombian government awarded contracts to some companies recently implicated through the National Protection Unit (Unidad Nacional de Protección – UNP), the state body in charge of managing protection measures provided to individuals and communities living in high-risk environments.

InSight Crime Analysis

The involvement of former members of Colombia’s security forces in using private security companies to provide illegal services to crime groups highlights the continuation of a years-long, mutually beneficial relationship that has bolstered the country’s armed groups.

This is just one consequence of the outsourcing of public security in Colombia, a country that has been deeply affected by a multi-decade armed conflict featuring dozens of criminal actors, according to Luis Fernando Quijano, a security analyst in Medellín and president of the non-profit Corporation for Peace and Social Development (Corporación para la Paz y el Desarrollo Social – Corpades).

“The privatization of public security has turned private security companies into a profitable business,” he told InSight Crime. “The state has facilitated some illegal activity in this country, and the issue of [private] security is a clear example.”

For many years, crime groups from all over Colombia have relied on these companies to source weapons and pass members off as registered bodyguards.

Alexander Ruíz Pulido, for example, the retired colonel who was among those arrested during the February operation, also directed several similar businesses in the cities of Cúcuta, Barranquilla, Medellín, and Pereira, as well as in the United States in Miami, Florida. Some of Ruíz Polido’s companies had links to former paramilitary leaders with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC). Among those who reportedly received weapons and official licenses was Oliverio Isaza Ramírez, alias “Terror,” a commander with the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC), the main armed group to emerge from the ashes of the AUC. Security forces killed Terror in February.

SEE ALSO: Paramilitary Commander Salvatore Mancuso Reveals AUC’s Connections in Colombia

In another case, a company called SIP Security registered Alejandro Restrepo Marulanda, alias “El Zarco,” and Matías Álvarez Tabares, alias “Keiber” – members of two of Medellín’s most prominent crime groups, Los Tirana and La Terraza – as bodyguards with access to weapons. The chief operating officer of that company is a retired police officer named John Velásquez, according to a November 2024 report from El Tiempo. On one occasion, El Zarco managed to avoid arrest by using documents that showed he was a bodyguard. Velásquez had reportedly obtained police accreditation for those documents.

Beyond providing access to weapons and licenses, private security companies have also helped thwart criminal prosecutions in Colombia. In April 2024, a judge ordered the release of Juan Carlos Castro, alias “Pichi Belén,” a leader of the Oficina de Envigado. Police caught the gang boss openly threatening another person with a weapon in Medellín, but authorities released him because he had a legal permit from a private security company to possess the weapon.

Castro was a client of José Omar Urrego Chitiva, a former police captain and representative of Securbel Ltda. Who was also captured as part of the February operation. Urrego Chitiva used his company to issue a work certificate to Castro that allowed him to later recover the seized weapon, according to a telephone conversation authorities intercepted between Castro and another individual.

Many other major criminal actors in Colombia have used private security companies to give their illicit activities a veneer of legality. The AUC strengthened its military operations through private security and surveillance cooperatives known as the Convivir. These groups served as a point of intersection between the paramilitaries, the military, and business elites, aiding the paramilitary expansion by acting as a conduit to channel weapons, classified information, and other resources into their hands.

The Convivir continues to exist in cities like Medellín. While some maintain their role as local security providers, they have also become involved in illegal activities such as micro trafficking and extortion.

This article, written by Sara Garcia and Juan Camilo Jaramillo, was originally published by InSight Crime, a Medellín-based foundation dedicated to the investigation and analysis of crime and security in Colombia and Latin America. It has been generously shared with Finance Colombia under a Creative Commons license.

Over the past few months, some travelers have featured complaints about changes in the Lifemiles frequent flyer loyalty program. Though a separate legal entity, the program was launched by, and continues to be associated with Avianca Airlines, and became popular even with travelers who never flew on Avianca, because of generous benefits that could be redeemed on other Star Alliance airlines. This caused many savvy travelers to participate in Lifemiles and earning through other Star Alliance airline partners, or even non travel related earnings methods such as store purchases and credit cards. Recent changes in the Lifemiles program have not gone unnoticed, but in the midst of this, longtime executive Valeria Yglesias was announced as the new managing director of Lifemiles. Loren Moss, executive editor of Finance Colombia was able to catch up with Yglesias at the 2025 Vitrina Turistica, the travel industry trade event held every year in Bogotá, Colombia by the trade association ANATO. 

Yglesias was able to provide enlightenment on the changes in the strategy for Avianca and Lifemiles, certainly acknowledging the shift in emphasis, while articulating the benefits of those changes, especially for those LifeMiles passengers that actually frequently fly Avianca, as opposed to taking advantage of the program in markets where the airline may not even have a presence.

Click on the image above to watch the video.

Finance Colombia: We just published an article about you, so, congratulations. I think we published it about a week or two ago. So, it sounds like you’ve been with Avianca and LifeMiles for much of your career, and now you’ve taken on much responsibility.

Valeria Yglesias: Yes, it is a lot of responsibility, but it’s a very exciting year to take LifeMiles because we’re investing a lot, and we’re making a lot of changes to the program, so we have high expectations that the Colombian public is going to take advantage of all that, that we’re going to grow a lot. So, yeah, it’s a big, big responsibility, but exciting, you know? At least, I’m coming here with a lot of good news.

Finance Colombia: Great. Are there any changes now that you are in the top spot? Are there things that you’ve seen kind of maybe moving up through the ranks that, wow, if I could, these are some things I would change? Do you have any ideas of different directions when it comes to the strategy?

Valeria Yglesias: Some other things we were already working through when we were announcing this year, but I think there are three important things: One, that the accrual is for everyone right now. I think that it was something that everybody was asking for, that the lowest fares in Avianca didn’t accrue miles- now they’re accruing at least three miles, and they’re accruing more.

If you combine that with lower requisites to get an elite status, it’s like a double whammy, right? Because you’re getting more miles, and you need fewer miles to be an elite. And that you are asking, “What do you see changing?” We want to focus a lot more on that high-value customer of Avianca. We want to treat them better. We want to be a program that’s closer to them. And that also comes together with more benefits, more entries to the VIP lounges. We’re making improvements in the lounges. We just refurbished Medellín.

We’re opening an international lounge, and hopefully some more to come. And we’re going to make some pretty good investments in lounges in Colombia as well. I think the other area where we’re going to focus, that maybe requires more focus, is customer experience. So we have now a group of people that are taking up all the things that have been, you know, these little pain points that people experience here or there, and we’re focusing on fixing them.

Finance Colombia: Good to hear. That’s good to hear because, yes, you know, I remember, and I know that Avianca, of course, has gone through several changes, you know, if we go back before the pandemic. And so it’s got to be, for somebody who spent your career in there, it’s got to be like one of those amusement park rides, because you’re getting whipped around in one direction to another direction, of course.

One of the key strategies that Lifemiles has had for a long time has been to attract. Even if you might have a Star Alliance member, and Avianca, maybe they’re not in Colombia, Avianca might not be their primary airline, but Lifemiles has always had the offer to say, “Look, make us your primary mileage partner.” Is that changing? Is there more of a focus on the actual partnership? Because I know that it’s something that grew up with Avianca, but then you guys brought in a strategic investor a few years back. And so it is kind of, in some respects, an independent entity. How is that strategy evolving when it comes to attracting people, maybe who don’t travel to Colombia, but maybe have in the past had LifeMiles as their primary mileage partner?

Valeria Yglesias: Yeah, our main focus for this year, especially, and long-term strategy as well, is focusing on the customers of Avianca. So it is a change of strategy a little in there. I think before because the company was separated and all that, there was more. The growth in itself was more important, but we’re now focusing on the Avianca passenger.

And we’re making, as I said, a lot of investments in the program, but also a lot of investment, I would say, but a lot of focus is on more redemptions and giving more value. We increased 30% redemptions last year, 2024 versus 2023. But just January and February, we’re up 50% more tickets in Avianca that are being redeemed with miles. We lowered the amount of miles that are needed for Avianca tickets as well. You can start traveling from 1,200 miles, that is nothing. It’s nothing.

Finance Colombia: It’s like here to Costa Rica or something.

Valeria Yglesias: Exactly, and if you have a credit card, and you put all your expenses there, it’s either how much you spend, but one month or a couple of months when you can accrue those miles. So it’s a lot more accessible right now. And yeah, our main focus is the high-value customers of Avianca, treating them well, and giving a lot more value for the program.

Finance Colombia: That makes a lot of sense, and that also probably explains a lot because I see doing my homework, knowing that I was going to meet with you today, and seeing where some of the routes that Avianca doesn’t even participate in were being de-emphasized. I saw some, okay, well, this flight from United to Australia. Well, Avianca, that’s not Avianca’s market.

Valeria Yglesias: Exactly.

Finance Colombia: You know? So maybe that explains why those routes are being de-emphasized. Then I remember, being here for a long time, as someone who just flies a lot, we had when it was segment-based.

Valeria Yglesias: Yes.

Finance Colombia: I can even still remember before the pandemic, it was 50 segments for gold. Because I’m always going between Medellín and Bogotá, and Bogotá to Cartagena or something like that. And it seemed like there was a move away from that, but now you’re saying that even with the new model because it’s kind of adopting not a low-cost airline, but adopting some commercial strategy of low-cost airlines, but now you’re adding back the advantage of accumulating LifeMiles. So LifeMiles is going to be a more strategic advantage than, not say before, like going way back, but like in the last couple of years, as Avianca has readjusted the strategy post-pandemic. Would that be accurate to say?

Valeria Yglesias: I believe so, yeah. So this year we’re working very, very closely with Avianca to give more value to their passengers. That’s our main goal. That’s why we are presenting all the changes to the program. I believe the whole combination that is being put up to the market is very powerful, very powerful. We didn’t change one thing, it’s the entire ecosystem. You earn more miles, you qualify more easily, we’re improving what we’re receiving, the VIP lounge, etc., and you’re able to redeem more.

The amount of inventory that’s being put out for LifeMiles customers is much, much bigger. So that’s the bet, right? We are betting that people are going to recognize we have always been the best value for money, I believe, when you want to redeem, especially if you’re a Colombian. But right now it’s going to be indisputable, because there were little things before, like, “Yeah, but I’m not going to accrue when I’m buying the cheapest fare.” Now you will accrue miles. So, yeah.

Finance Colombia: That’s good to hear.

Valeria Yglesias: It’s going to be a very good year.

Finance Colombia: Yeah, I think that’s good to hear because when you look at, let’s say, the Colombian business traveler, or maybe somebody that’s not Colombian but has business interests in Colombia and flies to Colombia often, it increases the value proposition that Avianca offers: “Why should I fly Avianca when I could fly some other airline?”

Valeria Yglesias: But, you know, it is easy to, well, it’s not easy, but somebody that’s flying international, to get the Gold or the Diamond in Avianca, and then they have the Star Alliance status. So if somebody is based here, I believe it makes much more sense for them to be an elite member of Avianca, and, you know, flying whenever he can with Avianca, and he gets the Star Alliance status. So when he goes outside, he can use the lounges. If he flies with another airline that’s part of Avianca, they can accrue their miles with Avianca as well. And our value in general is a great value for redemptions.

Finance Colombia: Absolutely. Well, much success. We’re going to be keeping an eye on you and the changes that you make. It’s good to meet you. Great always to cover what LifeMiles is doing, what Avianca is doing, and then also, of course, what Star Alliance is doing, and we wish you a lot of success.

Valeria Yglesias: Thank you very much.

 

The trial against former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez for alleged witness tampering has hit a significant roadblock after the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia ordered the temporary suspension of proceedings. The tribunal determined that the judge overseeing the case, Sandra Liliana Heredia, may have acted without impartiality. This decision came in response to a legal action filed by Uribe’s defense, which claimed that his fundamental rights to due process had been violated.

Jaime Granados, Uribe’s lead attorney, argued that Judge Heredia should have halted the initial hearing when the defense filed a motion for her recusal, rather than dismissing it as an attempt to delay proceedings. “At the moment, we are not pursuing a lawsuit against the judge. What we want is for Álvaro Uribe’s right to be respected—that of an impartial judge—and the judge has not demonstrated the impartiality required by international standards and our own Constitution,” he told the broadcasting network Caracol Radio.

Despite the suspension, all evidence gathered so far remains valid, and the trial will resume once the tribunal issues a final ruling on the recusal motion. Judge Heredia announced that she must refer the appeal to a circuit judge, who will have three days to decide whether to grant the request to remove her from the proceedings, according to Medellín newspaper El Colombiano. The trial is expected to resume in late March.

However, this delay poses a serious risk to the case, given that it must be concluded before the statute of limitations expires on October 8, 2025. Within the next eight months, 105 witnesses must present their testimonies, and the court must analyze extensive documentary, audio, and video evidence. Both the initial circuit court and the tribunal handling appeals must reach a verdict before the deadline to avoid case dismissal due to expiration.

This trial represents an unprecedented legal challenge in Colombia, as no former president has ever faced such proceedings.

Uribe, Colombia’s president from 2002 to 2010, faces charges of bribery, procedural fraud, and bribery in a judicial proceeding. Prosecutors must determine whether he instigated others to manipulate witness testimony in an attempt to mislead the judiciary for his benefit.

The case was born in 2012 when Uribe filed a complaint against Senator Iván Cepeda, accusing him of abusing his public office, aggravated defamation, and procedural fraud. Cepeda had presented testimonies from former paramilitaries Juan Guillermo Monsalve and Pablo Hernán Sierra, alleging Uribe’s ties to paramilitary groups in Antioquia. However, in 2018, the Supreme Court dismissed Uribe’s complaint and instead launched an investigation into whether he had manipulated witnesses to discredit Cepeda.

Key evidence includes a 2018 recording made by Monsalve, in which Uribe’s legal envoy, Diego Cadena, is heard offering legal benefits in exchange for altering testimony. Cadena allegedly made payments and attempted to persuade various imprisoned witnesses to change their statements. The case became even more complex when Cadena himself was charged with procedural fraud and bribery in a separate trial.

Three key prosecution witnesses include: Juan Guillermo Monsalve, a former paramilitary who secretly recorded Diego Cadena offering him legal benefits; Deyanira Gómez, Monsalve’s former partner, who collaborated with authorities and provided the spy watch that captured Cadena’s offer; and Carlos Enrique Vélez, alias “Víctor,” another former paramilitary, who claims Cadena offered him a bribe to testify in Uribe’s favor

Uribe’s defense also has crucial witnesses, including: Diego Cadena, who insists that any offers made were independent of Uribe’s knowledge; Carlos López, alias “Caliche,” a friend of Monsalve, who claims he tried to persuade Monsalve to support Uribe out of personal admiration rather than direct orders and several ex-paramilitaries, who allege that Cepeda initially offered them benefits to testify against Uribe, although their credibility has been questioned.

Three main pieces of evidence play a pivotal role in the case: Recordings capturing Cadena’s interactions with Monsalve; records of payments to alias “Víctor”, which the prosecution views as proof of bribery, though the defense argues Uribe was unaware; and intercepted communications between Uribe and Cadena, which could confirm Uribe’s involvement, in spite of the fact that the defense contends they were illegally obtained and should be inadmissible.

Headline photo: The entire trial against former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez has been streamed live, allowing the public to follow every development in real time (Image: Radio Nacional de Colombia / Youtube)

Low Cost Airline JetSMART continues to grow in Colombia, replacing the void left by the disappearance of Viva Air several years ago. The airline, with global headquarters in Santiago, Chile, is backed by US based Indigo Partners and American Airlines, fueling rapid growth in the country, serving the increasing demand for air travel by both Colombians and international travelers.

Finance Colombia was present during Vitrina Turistica 2025, the huge travel industry trade show put on in Bogotá by ANATO, the travel industry trade organization. During a presentation given by JetSmart executives outlining the airline’s growth and plans for Colombia, Finance Colombia Executive Editor Loren Moss was able to ask a few questions of  Chief Commercial Officer Victor Mejia. Colombia Country Manager Mario Garcia was also on hand. By clicking above, the reader can hear the original interview in Spanish.

Finance Colombia: Victor, very kind of you. Thank you for weighing in on this. My question is, I saw that when purchasing my ticket to fly here, I could now put my American Airlines AAdvantage loyalty program number into my JetSmart reservation. How has that reception been? And taking into account your alliance with American Airlines since you are growing internationally, can you grow to North America and more destinations in the Caribbean? Or would the strategy be to leave that to your partners and connect through them?

Victor Mejia: No, thank you for the question. Look, the truth is that to offer AAdvantage, AAdvantage miles for all JetSMART travelers so that they can accumulate them by buying tickets and continue flying with us, and then use their miles to redeem all the options that American Airlines has to visit in the world, it is a great benefit. We are very proud of being able to share and offer it to our travelers. So, we invite everyone to enter their AAdvantage number every time they buy a ticket on JetSMART, so they can receive the benefits of flying.

We will continue to expand our airline, mainly in Colombia; like the news we just saw, our Cali-San Andres flight. And we will continue to look for the opportunity to bring in air connectivity. American Airlines is our partner, we are there supporting each other through code share flights, and we will be bringing that to Colombia in the future. So no, definitely the options to provide international connectivity, either directly or through our alliance with American Airlines, will continue to be there.

Finance Colombia: And the importance of having Indigo Partners as an investor?

Victor Mejia: Yes well, Indigo Partners is our airline’s founding partner, they have more than 20 years of experience with the low-cost model around the world, and they are very tied to and very involved with the airline. We work hand in hand in all the management with Indigo. They also help us view the global perspective of aviation. And in the part of fleet acquisitions, which is why we can have the newest fleet in South America, we were recently recognized for that again, and continue to receive brand-new aircraft from the factory, Airbus A320 and A321. Those are some of the strengths of belonging to the Indigo Partners group.

JetSMART discusses the airline’s growth in Colombia

Ana: JetSMART’s commitment to connectivity and tourism in Colombia is undeniable. We are in this 44th edition of the ANATO Vitrina Turística 2025, which is the most important event of the sector in the country, and the best venue to deliver great news. Since it arrived in Colombia in March of last year, JetSMART has revolutionized the way Colombians travel, Smart model, with its ultra-low-cost model, where passengers pay only for what they need. Connecting more cities, facilitating access to flights through very low fares. Today it continues to expand its presence in the country, giving more Colombians the opportunity to fly in an affordable, efficient way and with the most modern fleet in South America, the youngest.

Today we will share with all of you the airline’s progress in Colombia, we will do a presentation, and so I invite Victor Mejia, JetSMART’s Chief Commercial Officer to provide all this information. So of course once again, we welcome Victor. Go ahead.

“And we have been serving the Colombian market since March of 2024. Yes, we have six international routes from Colombia.” – Victor Mejia

Victor Mejia: Thank you, Ana. Good morning everyone. It is a pleasure to be here again at Anato, sharing with you -there are some familiar faces from last year as well- the JetSMART news. This year we are also bringing good news, and we wanted to take advantage of the Vitrina Turística de Anato, what better place to do it, than to tell you how we did in this first year of operation? But also to bring good news, so I hope it will be to everyone’s liking. For those of you who we haven’t had the pleasure of knowing, or have not had the opportunity to get to know JetSMART, let me tell you a little bit about our airline.

JetSMART is owned by the Indigo Partners investment fund, a private investment fund based in Phoenix, Arizona, which has airlines all over the world in the ultra-low-cost model. One of these airlines, which may be familiar to you, is Volaris in Mexico, which is the number 1 or 2 airline in Mexico. You also have Frontier in the United States, there is also the Wizz Air airline in Europe, and Cebu Pacific in the Philippines, and for South America we took on the task of founding JetSMART, in 2016. The company started flying in July 2017, and since then we have been serving different countries in Latin America. And now we are going to tell you a little bit about how we’ve been expanding. So a bit like I was saying before, with the Indigo Partners group that has more than 20 years of experience in ultra-low-cost airlines around the world.

Also our mission; well we came here because we want to connect 100 million people. So far we are already 35, we are getting there, moving forward in the middle of a pandemic also, which was challenging for the whole sector, for all sectors I think. But well, for the aviation sector, it was especially challenging. But we are on that path, and as part of that path, we have opened operations in different countries in South America with our Smart model. It is an ultra-low-cost model that has been the fastest growing in the world in recent years; in Europe, it is already very mature, and in the United States as well. In South America, we have already been in different countries for several years with the low-cost model, which is very well known in Colombia.

There were important changes in the sector, we saw the opportunity, and that is why we are here, to serve by bringing back the low-cost model to Colombia. Our models, new airplanes, we are going to talk a little bit more about that. Our prices, as well, are low, so that people can travel a lot, can select what they want to customize in their trip, and what they want to pay for. Because the ticket they are going to buy with JetSMART, the lowest fare possible, is going to allow them to travel from point A to point B, and the passenger can customize their trip, choosing if they want luggage if they want a specific seat. It is a model that is a bit more transparent as well, that allows the passenger to not pay for what they do not need.

In our strategy, we also try to have routes, what we call Smart routes, which are routes that do not necessarily go to the big hubs that exist in the different countries, but that connect point-to-point cities that need air transportation, and that are not being served. So we have been adding routes between cities that did not normally have an air connectivity service. As for our fleet, well, in the year 2028, we will be reaching 124 aircraft. We currently have 44 aircraft in operation. The request was made in a historic aircraft order that we have made hand in hand with Indigo Partners and the other airlines of the group. They are already committed, they are already signed and purchased, so it is the most prominent aircraft reception process we have, and in permanent growth.

We have aircraft of the Airbus A320 and A321 family. Of A320 we have the A320neo fleet, and of A321 also neo, which is the most efficient aircraft available to date. We are the first operator in South America to have this type of aircraft. The interior of our aircraft they are brand new, they are efficient, with E-Leather seat technology, which is very comfortable and light. Part of our model is to be very cost-efficient to translate that cost-efficiency into pricing for consumers. We are committed to sustainability; our aircraft represent the diversity of the region; each aircraft has its own identity, an animal from the different countries where we operate. We work with different environmental conservation entities in different countries, and we are bringing that identity to the tails of the airplanes.

We are very proud to share with you a piece of news, a scoop from a couple of days ago, and that is that once again Ch-Aviation, which is an aviation institute that evaluates all the fleets around the world, has recognized and verified that we have the newest airplane fleet in South America, once again for the year 2025. This is a product of the fact that, as I shared with you before, we are constantly receiving new aircraft from the Airbus factory, so this is going to be something that we believe we will be maintaining for some time because these aircraft will continue to arrive every year.

Also one of our partners, a minority shareholder of the company but also a commercial ally, is American Airlines. We have a very broad commercial alliance that involves code-share flights, which we do not have in Colombia yet, but they will come and we will be sharing them with you as soon as they do. But we do have them in other countries in South America. Also, the frequent flyer program, AAdvantage, in which today, AAdvantage frequent flyer program members can earn miles when they buy tickets on JetSMART, and fly with JetSMART. And you can redeem those miles in America and fly all over the world. So it’s a very, very important partner.

As I was sharing with you, in 2017 we started flying, and we took on the task of bringing air connectivity to all of South America. Currently, we serve South America with 81 routes, we serve 8 countries, and we have domestic operations in 4 countries. The first one we started in Chile in 2017, later we went to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and we have served the entire Argentine domestic since 2019. Later in the pandemic, since we were all cooped up at home, we got creative and decided to open in Peru, so we started operating in Peru. And last year, finally, with great pleasure for many of us who have a past linked to Colombia, we arrived in Colombia.

And we have been serving the Colombian market since March of 2024. Yes, we have six international routes from Colombia. And for this, we are going to talk a little bit more about our arrival in Colombia and how we have been doing so far, what we have been up to this last year, so I want to pass the floor to Mario Garcia, our Country Manager here at JetSMART in Colombia. So, Mario, the microphone is yours.

Mario Garcia: Good morning. I’m very pleased to be here and with a full house. I would like to tell you a bit, after what Victor explained to us, about what has been done throughout South America, and what we have done in Colombia. In Colombia, out of those 44 airplanes, we have 8 airplanes operating, 320, and we have these six international routes. We connect Cartagena, Medellín, Cali, Bogotá, with Santiago, Lima and Antofagasta. It has been a very fluid and year-round operation. And now to talk a bit about domestic flights. We started operating on March 14 of last year, and we already have, with what we are going to announce now, 19 domestic routes; we serve 10 cities; last year we flew two and a half million people; we had close to 14,000 operations; 14,000 take-offs in 9 months.

That incorporation of airplanes was practically one airplane per month, a very accelerated growth, and in order to bring airplanes and air travel closer to Colombia. Today we have one of the highest per capita flight averages in the region; 0.8 flights per person, and we want to be a support for more Colombians to fly and get closer to airplanes. Since we have been flying, 38% of passengers have flown in a plane for the first time with us.

On connectivity with the San Andrés Archipelago

Audience member: I would also like to ask you, we know that yesterday you met with (San Andrés & {Profidencia) Governor Nicolas Gallardo. What other things could you anticipate for us (from the San Andrés Archipelago)? What other, let’s say, destinations are also being explored to connect San Andres, both nationally and internationally? Thank you.

Victor Mejia: Thank you for your questions. We are very pleased with the performance of this Medellín -San Andres route. We had a very good reception from the public, not only in Medellín, but we also made international connectivity. The idea is that both from Medellín and from the new route we are announcing now, Cali-San Andres, there will be international connectivity. To Cali, we fly Santiago-Cali and Antofagasta-Cali. We are the only ones flying those direct flights to the city of Cali, and the idea is to also use this as a connection point to the San Andres island. Our purpose for the time being is to continue gathering more opportunities.

Hopefully, we can turn these four frequencies into more, if we have the reception we expect from the public, and through that, we can make the flight to the island from different points more viable. So let’s continue working hand in hand, it is truly a pleasure to receive the support of both the local media and the government, and with all the actors and tour operators of the island. We will be bringing you international connectivity through the two points of  Medellín and Cali.

Migrant smuggling dynamics in northern Colombia are shifting in response to a US immigration crackdown, potentially disrupting a lucrative revenue stream for the powerful crime group known as the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC).

The number of migrants crossing the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama plummeted to just over a dozen per day in February, as fears of stricter US immigration policies under the administration of President Donald Trump have deterred new crossings. Only 408 migrants crossed the Darién Gap in February — a staggering drop from the more than 37,000 who made the journey during the same month last year.

But the slowdown is not just a reduction in numbers; migrants across Central America and Mexico are abandoning their plans to reach the United States and instead heading south, returning to their countries of origin.

SEE ALSO: The Forgotten Human Smuggling Route in the Darién

The vast majority of those returning are Venezuelans, according to Colombia’s Foreign Ministry, which reported that 1,885 migrants arrived in Colombia from Panama between January 15 and February 28. In March, the flow has accelerated, with more than 200 migrants per day traveling by boat from Panama to Colombia, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, the number of migrants entering Panama from the north is also rising, with about 3,100 people crossing the Costa Rican border last week, according to Panamanian authorities.

After entering Panama, migrants make their way to the port of Colón, where large boats take them to La Miel, a town close to the border with Colombia. Migrants are charged $230 USD per person for the journey. From there, they transfer to smaller boats to reach Capurganá, Colombia, then travel by motorcycle to Acandí, and finally take another boat to Necoclí — the point where many previously began their journey north across the Darién.

InSight Crime Analysis

The plummeting number of migrants traveling through the Darién could lead to a sharp decline in profits for the AGC, which maintains a monopoly on migrant smuggling operations in the region that were worth tens of millions of dollars a year at their peak.

The group’s primary source of profit came from extorting both formal and informal businesses connected to the migration flow, including hotels, guides, restaurants, stores, and transporters. Additionally, the AGC earned direct profits by facilitating the movement of migrants through its zone of control, placing their earnings between $17.5 million USD and $25 million USD by 2023, according to InSight Crime’s estimates.

SEE ALSO: Colombia’s AGC Squeezes Profits From Control Of Key Migration Choke Point

However, the decline in migrant traffic through the Darién has put a dent in both formal and informal economies, resulting in a reduction of profits for the AGC.

“The economy of that area changed in recent years. An economic bubble was created that, when it burst, would bring a very bleak context,” said a person working for a state entity in the area, who requested to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak. Now, they added, that bubble has burst, hurting many who formerly profited off migrants. The increase in migrants heading south still is not large enough to compensate for the dropoff in northward flows.

“These are very small flows. From a business perspective, which is what these groups always see, it’s not an attractive phenomenon for them,” they said.

The AGC appears to be filling the gaps with other illegal economies. The group is increasing “collaboration” — their term for extortion — with other sectors, such as cattle ranchers, according to a local resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

The AGC needs consistent income to sustain an unrelenting war with their main enemy, the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN), for control of the department of Chocó, directly south of the Urabá region, which is home to important criminal economies such as illegal gold mining. The drop in migrant flows will likely shift the AGC’s focus back to drug trafficking through the Darién and the Colombian region of Urabá, which remains the group’s most critical stronghold.

This article, written by Henry Shuldiner and Sara Garcia, was originally published by InSight Crime, a Medellín-based foundation dedicated to the investigation and analysis of crime and security in Colombia and Latin America. It has been generously shared with Finance Colombia under a Creative Commons license.

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. reported on March 17 at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, that the shareholders approved the share buyback program, under articles 27 A 27 C of the law on Public Limited Companies, proposed by the board of directors.

This program is for up to 1.6% of the subscribed and paid shares into which the company’s share capital is divided as of this date, that is, up to 9,671,006,041 shares, and it will last for 18 months from the date of the extraordinary meeting. In turn, the board delegated to the board of directors to implement with full authority everything concerning the execution of the repurchase plan, including determining the purchase price.

The buyback plan may be carried out on the stock exchanges through systems that allow the acquisition on a pro-rata basis of the shares received or directly on the wheel, subject, in this case, to the limit for daily and annual volume established by law.

In the case of the acquisition of shares in a roundtable, the board of directors was authorized to acquire shares in a representative amount of up to 1% of the company’s share capital within any period of 12 months, without the need to apply the pro rata procedure, under the terms provided for in the aforementioned Article 27 B.

Photo credit: Latam Airlines.

Another quiet weekend in terms of news. I chose to set aside the politicians who are as ever busily trying to embarrass themselves regardless of party allegiances – if you were looking for respectable ones to play sports, you might find five for a basketball team, but eleven for football would be a stretch. They are all in it for themselves, and care little about the population, and those who haven’t been jailed or banned from office – are likely just better at covering their tracks.

No one is pretending it’s an easy country to run. On Friday, the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística – DANE Colombia revealed the latest real sector data for January, and it was positive. Manufacturing production rose 1.9%, that’s two glorious months in positive territory, however, retail sales grabbed the headlines. They rose 10.1% versus 4% expected. Electronic goods rose 50% and vehicles 23% – the Colombian economy has long since been based on commerce and locals due to lower inflation and overnight rates are back to doing what they are best at.

But as BBVA reported last week, the flip side is that they are poor at saving, and that has a downside for the economy as there is less easy money to lend and invest.

Also, that same rush to the shops as domestic demand is driving imports upwards, with manufacturing goods in high demand. Exports can’t keep pace and that leads us to the biggest economic issue the country is facing – fiscal imbalance. Huge deficits each month and despite remittances now regularly hitting $1 billion USD per month, it’s not enough.

Colombia needs to spend to lift more people out of poverty, to provide education and the opportunity for dignified lives, but there is a constant struggle to balance the books. For several years Colombia has struggled, due to external events, to get inflation under control, but the second spending gets easier we see the above cycle.

For all the chatter about commodities, they are not a long or even medium-term solution. It’s been around a decade since Colombia last produced 1 million BPD of oil – those days are gone and the country needs to seek new solutions to balance the books. Tourism is certainly one and agriculture is the next, however, that will require land reform and the repatriation of lands stolen by the ruling elite, especially in the years following the turn of the century, it’s hard to see that happening soon.

Here endeth the lesson.

Have a great week.

Roops.

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Headline photo: One of the displays from Colombiatex in 2016. (Photo credit: Loren Moss)

Collective Mining Ltd. (NYSE: CNL, TSX: CNL) has announced assay results from two drill holes at its Ramp Zone discovery, located within the Apollo system at the Guayabales Project in Caldas, Colombia. The results include 75.80 meters grading 8.01 grams per ton (g/t) gold equivalent in drill hole APC105-D1, marking the longest and highest-grade intercept at Ramp Zone to date on a grade accumulation basis.

Drill hole APC103-D3 intersected 20.30 meters at 6.68 g/t gold equivalent before encountering a post-mineral dyke, which ended the hole prematurely. The company stated that these results expand the Ramp Zone to the west and southwest, with the zone remaining open in all directions for further exploration.

Drilling and Expansion Plans

To date, Collective Mining has received assay results for six drill holes into the Ramp Zone from three drill pads, with two additional drill holes completed and awaiting results. The company is conducting a 60,000-meter drill program in 2025, with six drill rigs operating. Four rigs are active at Apollo, one at the Tower Target, and another at the San Antonio Project. Two additional rigs are expected to be deployed later in the first half of 2025.

Collective Mining has expanded its drilling operations to include a third rig positioned on the northeastern side of Apollo to further delineate the Ramp Zone.

Key Drill Results

APC105-D1: 75.80 meters at 8.01 g/t gold equivalent from 469.60 meters, including 21.00 meters at 24.16 g/t gold equivalent from 487.60 meters.

APC103-D3: 20.30 meters at 6.68 g/t gold equivalent from 247.45 meters, before being terminated due to a post-mineral dyke.

According to Collective Mining, the Ramp Zone currently extends at least 75 meters along strike, 480 meters in width, and 150 meters vertically, with potential for further expansion. The company has developed an initial 3D model suggesting that the Ramp Zone’s mineralization, characterized by gold, silver, bismuth, and tellurium, could extend beyond the Apollo breccia body.

Exploration Strategy

For 2025, the company’s drilling program at Apollo aims to:

• Test newly modeled high-grade sub-zone targets within the top 1,000 vertical meters.
• Expand the overall system dimensions by stepping out along strike and depth in the Ramp Zone.
• Assess the northern extension potential of Apollo at shallower elevations.

Corporate Background

Collective Mining, led by the team that previously developed Continental Gold Inc. before its acquisition by Zijin Mining, holds a 100% interest in two projects within a mining district in Colombia. The company is focused on exploration at the Guayabales and San Antonio projects, with Apollo as its primary target.

Photo credit: Collective Mining.

The rejection of President Gustavo Petro’s proposed labor reform by eight senators from the Seventh Commission of the Upper House of the Congress has sparked intense controversy. In response, Petro announced that he may call for a public referendum to allow voters to decide on the proposed changes.

While there is general consensus that labor reform in Colombia is necessary, disagreements persist over how to balance the interests of businesses, workers, and lawmakers responsible for enacting these changes. The government argues that the proposed reform aims to restore labor rights and enhance job stability, with a particular emphasis on promoting indefinite-term contracts.

Bruce MacMaster, President of the National Business Association of Colombia, ANDI, claims that President Petro’s government of failing to comply with the international agreements to which Colombia has signed, since two years have passed without holding a labor consultation. “We went to the International Labour Organization (ILO) to formally denounce the Colombian government for not advancing the consultation that should have been done by constitutional obligation and by the international agreements it has signed,” MacMaster told broadcasting network Caracol Radio.

One of the most debated aspects of the proposal includes changes to work hours and compensation. The bill proposed shifting the start of night shifts from 9:00 PM to 7:00 PM, which would require employers to pay a 25% surcharge for work beyond that hour. Additionally, compensation for work on mandatory rest days and holidays would rise from 75% to 100%.

Business leaders have voiced strong opposition to these provisions, arguing that they would lead to significantly higher labor costs and reduced productivity. Jaime Alberto Cabal, President of Fenalco, the national federation of merchants, stated that many small and medium-sized enterprises narrowly avoided a 30% increase in labor costs due to the bill’s rejection. “For the sake of Colombian workers, the unemployed, the informal sector, and small and medium-sized businesses, it is necessary to think carefully before approving a labor reform that is harmful to Colombia’s interests,” he said on a video shared on social media.

Alfonso Cuitiva, president of the board of directors of the Colombian Association of Retail Drugstore Owners (Asocoldro), noted that while the union agrees with improving workers’ conditions, it is also important to boost the entire productive sector, including microentrepreneurs, who are numerous in this country. “In fact, microentrepreneurs in this country generate more than 60% of employment. Small and medium-sized enterprises, together, generates almost 90% of employment in this country, and this is the sector most impacted by the labor reform,” Cuitiva said to Medellín newspaper El Colombiano.

Labor unions and social organizations, however, have fiercely condemned the Senate’s decision. The Comando Nacional Unitario, that gather Colombia’s major labor unions and pensioners’ confederations, called for a national mobilization on March 18th to demand that Congress “prioritize workers’ rights over business interests”.

Union leaders argue that the labor reform was an essential step toward social justice, aimed at reversing labor policies implemented through Law 50 of 1990 and Law 789 of 2002 under former President Álvaro Uribe. These laws, they contend, eroded job stability and social security protections. For labor activists, the rejection of the reform represents a victory for neoliberal policies that have perpetuated inequality and precarious employment conditions.

While officials aligned with President Petro are promoting mobilization in favor of the reform, other officials have shown their disengagement with these actions.

“On Tuesday, March 18th, Medellín’s public servants will work normally. We will not shut down educational institutions, health services or any other public institution. (…) May the economy continue to grow. May thousands of good-quality, well-paying jobs continue to be generated. There is no better social policy than job creation,” stated Medellin’s Mayor Federico Gutiérrez on X.

As the debate over labor reform continues, the divide between the government, business sector, and labor movements highlights the complexity of enacting meaningful changes in Colombia’s labor laws. Whether through legislative efforts or a public referendum, the issue remains a critical test for Petro’s administration and agenda.

Headline photo: Newly appointed Minister of Culture, Yannai Kadamani Fonrodona (third from the left in the front row), shared a video on her personal social media, calling for participation in the March 18 protests in support of the government and the labor reform. (Photo: X / @KadamaniYannai)