The conference agenda included discussions on artificial intelligence (AI), smart cities, and cybersecurity. Over 120 speakers were scheduled to present. Keynote speakers included physicist and author Dr. Michio Kaku. Additional participants include Spain’s Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Administration, Óscar López, and a delegation from the United Arab Emirates.

Event Focus and Speakers

According to Adriana Leal, manager of ANDICOM, the event has positioned Cartagena as a hub for technology and innovation. Leal noted the participation of Kaku, an author recognized for his work on quantum computing, and the presence of López, along with the delegation from the UAE.

Yamil Arana Padauí, governor of Bolívar, stated that ANDICOM provides an opportunity to showcase projects such as Mompox Inteligente, a local connectivity and technology initiative.

Agenda and Thematic Tracks

The pre-conference on September 2 featured three main tracks:

• CyberShield Forum: This track addresses cybersecurity, deepfakes, and cyber-resilience.
• Autonomous Agents: This segment focuses on the application of AI in corporate processes.
• CINTEL Future Cities: This track covers topics such as digital tourism, smart cities, and urban mobility.

From September 3 to 5, the main conference focused on digital evolution, the future of the IT sector, and the role of the economy in the AI era. International delegations from countries including the United States, Belgium, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, the Czech Republic, and Canada are expected to attend.

The conference also hosted three award ceremonies to recognize regional innovation: the Digital Transformation Innovation Awards (in collaboration with PwC), the Smart City Innovator Awards 2025, and the Enterprise Cybersecurity Awards (a partnership between ETEK International and CINTEL).

Business and Networking

ANDICOM’s networking initiatives include the “Meet and Business” room, which will bring together executives from 28 companies, including Coca-Cola FEMSA (NYSE: KOF), ISA (BVC: ISA), Allianz (FWB: ALV; SIX: ALV), and Arturo Calle. This space is designed to facilitate direct connections between companies seeking technological solutions and providers.

The event also features a business roundtable for one-on-one meetings between sponsors and C-level executives, with the capacity for up to 400 scheduled meetings over the four days.

Conference Statistics

• Estimated Participants: 6,s00+
• Participating Countries: 35+
• Companies Represented: 250+
• Speakers: 120+
• Academic Sessions: 80+

ANDICOM 2025. Photo credit: CINTEL.

This value also represented more than half, 52.7%, of everything that Colombia sold to the world in those six months.

“The behavior of what the country exported in the first six months of the year in products other than oil and coal, ratifies not only the behavior that non-mining exports have been registering for months, but also that step by step we are advancing in the transformation of the productive fabric and the diversification of the export basket. From the commerce, industry, and tourism sector, we continue to provide entrepreneurs in the regions with all the instruments and institutional offer to guarantee the sophistication and expansion of the offer,” said the Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, Diana Marcela Morales Rojas.

In volume, shipments also continue to increase. Between January and June, there were 5.1 million tons, for a growth of 9.6% compared to the first half of 2024. Within the non-mining basket, the exports that had the greatest weight in the period of analysis were those of the agricultural sector, which accounted for 43.7% ($5.615.9 million USD) and grew 36%.

Products such as coffee stand out, whose exports in the 6 months grew 81.3%; flowers, 9.9%; bananas, 6.2%; Hass avocado, 27.6%; Tahiti lemon, 15.7%, and gulupa, 23.3%, among others. The second most representative group of products of exports of non-mining goods in the period was industry, which participated with 40.8% ($5.252 million USD) of this basket and a growth of 5%.

Exports of aluminum doors, windows, and their frames stood out, among others, with an increase of 9.5%; insecticides, 18.8%; electrical transformers, 12.9%; medicines, 9.3%; and beauty preparations, 3.7%. Products from the agribusiness sector, which accounted for 15.5% ($1.989.7 million USD) of the non-mining energy export basket, registered an increase in sales of 37%.

Products such as palm oil, whose exports grew 64.1%; coffee extracts and essences with an increase of 45.7%; sugar, 14.3%; cocoa and its derivatives, 87.3%, and bakery products, 8.7%, among others, boosted the sector’s performance.

90.4% of exports of non-mining energy products were made from nine Colombian regions: Antioquia, from where they grew 25.9%; Bogotá, which increased 16.5%; Cundinamarca, 16.5%; Valle del Cauca, 14.8%; Atlántico, 6.6%; Bolívar, 9%; Caldas, 47.3%; Magdalena, 45% and Huila.

The latter was the one that reported the highest increase, with 50%. Its non-mining foreign sales totaled $624.2 million USD in the first six months of the year, marked by coffee.

In June alone, the country exported $2.112.6 million USD in non-mining products, which represented an increase of 20.4%. In volume, 774,248 tons were shipped for an increase of 9.6%.

Avocados. Photo credit: JohnyVid from Pixabay.

“The Smart City Expo is the global platform par excellence to share best practices and foster international collaboration in building more sustainable, inclusive, and connected cities. We are very excited to bring this event to Cartagena, a place that is taking firm steps towards its smart future,” said Ricard Zapatero, CEO of Fira Barcelona.

Organized by Fira Barcelona and Corferias, hosted by the city of Cartagena de Indias, this event has established itself as the nerve center for the discussion and promotion of smart cities. Smart City Expo Cartagena will have a complete academic agenda, where leading specialists will share their knowledge on digital transformation, sustainability, mobility, urban infrastructure, and citizen participation. In addition, a broad multisectoral commercial exhibition will be developed, with the involvement of a wide variety of innovative institutions and companies, showing the most recent advances in technology and urbanization.

“Smart City Expo Cartagena is positioned as a benchmark for smart cities in Latin America. For the capital of the department of Bolívar, it is an honor to host this event, since it allows us to show our commitment to sustainability, innovation, and smart urban development to improve the lives of our inhabitants,” said Jaime Hernández Amín, director of Distriseguridad.

The event is aimed at political leaders and all actors in the public sector, as a meeting point to share experiences, learn, and learn about solutions that they can implement in their respective cities.

“This event represents a unique opportunity for Colombian and Latin American companies to interact with global leaders in the Smart City industry. Corferias is proud to be part of this event, which will strengthen the innovation and technological development ecosystem in Colombia,” added Andrés López Valderrama, executive president of Corferias.

During the development of Smart City Expo Cartagena 2025, attendees will be able to explore a variety of key topics that are shaping the future of smart cities. Among the main focuses of the event are:

• Advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big da, ta and 5G networks, which allow data to be collected and analyzed in real time to optimize urban management and improve the quality of life of citizens.
• Solutions to reduce the carbon footprint, such as renewable energy systems, green buildings, and more efficient water management, allow us to move towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future.
• Efficient and sustainable transport systems, which will include innovations in electric vehicles, intelligent public transport systems, and shared mobility solutions, such as electric bicycles and scooters, to achieve more connected and less polluting cities.
• Digital platforms for citizen participation, which facilitate the inclusion of inhabitants in urban decision-making, promote a more transparent and collaborative government.
• Efficient and personalized public services, such as connected healthcare, online education, and advanced public safety systems, ensure greater accessibility and rapid response to emergencies.

Among the list of prominent speakers who will participate in this stage, there are key voices from the national and international arena that are leading urban transformation, public innovation, and the construction of more sustainable and inclusive cities. Among them: Alejandro Ambrad, general director of Mentes a la Carta; Paula Andrea Palacio Salazar, director of the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley (AMVA); Andrea Piña, executive president of the Chamber of Commerce of Cartagena; Fernando de Pablo Martín, general director of the Digital Office of the Madrid City Council; Pedro González Delgado, director of Foreign Action and Institutional Relations of the Government of Tenerife; Bernardo Baranda Sepúlveda, director for Latin America of the Institute of Transport and Development Policies (ITDP); and Gerardo Neugovsen Plotkin, specialized technical advisor of the National Directorate of Creative Economy of the IDB. These expert voices, among many others, will be part of a high-level agenda designed to draw the roadmap for the present and future smart cities.

The Mayor’s Office of Cartagena de Indias points out that Smart City Expo Cartagena de Indias will generate a positive impact on the local and regional economy, attracting experts, investors, and professionals from the sector, which will contribute to the growth and development of the technology and construction industry in Cartagena and its surroundings. In addition, it will be a platform for economic spillover in the city and an educational and awareness-raising tool for citizens, promoting the adoption of smart and sustainable technologies that improve the quality of life of inhabitants.

“Cartagena is positioned as an epicenter of the discussion on the future of sustainable and technological cities. This event reinforces our commitment to smart development, the responsible use of resources, and the continuous improvement of the quality of life of our inhabitants. We are excited to welcome the world’s best experts to learn, share, and build a more connected future together,” said Dumek Turbay Paz, Mayor of Cartagena.

For more information about the event, registration, and full agenda, please visit our official website: www.smartcityexpocartagena.com.

Smart City Expo Cartagena 2025 will be held at the Convention Center of the Hotel Las Américas. Photo credit: Smart City Expo website.

This is clear from the analysis made by this ministry based on figures published by DANE, which establishes that non-mining energy exports grew 22% compared to the same period in 2024. And if the volume shipped is reviewed, it was 4.32 million tons for an increase of 9.6% compared to January-May 2024.

Within the basket of non-mining energy goods, those with the greatest weight are industrial goods, which accounted for 55.9% ($6.011.2 million USD) and grew 12.2% in 2024. Those in the agricultural sector participated with 43.9% of that basket and increased by 37.2%.

In the period of analysis, when evaluating the main export products of the non-mining pie, several contributed to boost this growth. The following stand out: coffee, whose foreign sales increased 89%; palm oil with 63.7%; coffee extracts with 36.8%;hass avocado with 24.7%, and polypropylene with 21.9%.

Likewise, beauty preparations had an important behavior and contributed to growth, 6.3%; flowers, 5.7%; bananas, 5.4%; electrical transformers, 4.7% and doors, windows, and their frames, 4.3%, among others.

By regions

About the 9 departments that export the most non-mining energy goods and that represent 90.5% of this basket, all registered increases in their sales.

In the case of Antioquia, which is the department that has the most weight in this type of foreign sales, it registered a growth of 24.8%; it is followed by Bogotá with 15.4%; those of Cundinamarca grew 15.9%; those of Valle del Cauca 16.2%; those of Atlántico 5%; those of Bolívar 10.7%; those of Caldas 44.2%; those of Huila 72.3% and those of Magdalena 44.1%.

Coffee from Colombia. Photo credit: Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism (MinCIT)

According to data from Migración Colombia, the main destination departments for international visitors were: Bogotá, 34.84%; Antioquia, 25.65%; Bolívar, 20.56%; Valle del Cauca, 4.71%; and San Andrés and Providencia, 3.35%.

Other departments such as Atlántico, Magdalena, Norte de Santander, Risaralda and Santander also showed a prominent participation in the flow of travelers.

Connectivity and hotel occupancy rate

In terms of air connectivity, during April 2025, 4.36 million passengers were mobilized on scheduled flights, which represents a growth of 3.1% compared to April 2024 and 27% more than in April 2023. In the same month, the number of arrivals on international flights increased by 10.6% compared to the previous year.

In the cumulative period from January to April 2025, 17.98 million passengers were mobilized, registering an increase of 3.4% compared to 2024 and 21.4% compared to 2023. International arrivals in that period also grew by 8.8%.

According to Colombian statistics agency DANE figures, the occupancy rate in tourist accommodation for April 2025 was 46.8%, a behavior similar to that recorded in the same month of the previous year, which reflects a sustained recovery of the sector.

The Colombian government, through the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, states that it has prioritized the strengthening of tourism as an engine of economic development, social inclusion and international projection. Through ProColombia, MinCIT has approved international promotion actions worth more than $188.376 million USD, aimed at consolidating Colombia’s image as a reliable and attractive destination.

Plaza Bolivar in Bogotá, Colombia. Photo credit: Makalu from Pixabay.

Finance Colombia presents a short documentary by Loren Moss about San Basilio de Palenque, its people, its history in their own words, and how the town is doing today. Its inhabitants, the Palenqueros, also share advice for those who wish to visit.

Special thanks to:

• The people of San Basilio de Palenque, los Palenqueros
• El Maestro Rafael Cassiani (RIP) and his family
• The musical group Kombilesa Mi, especially Ali Mc PM & Afroneto
• HBCU Connect, LLC
• Chevron Petroleum
• The Talento Total Foundation

VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL https://youtu.be/LdDYDpm6m6k?si=-I7qQbGIfV_QgYsP

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“Just a few months ago, the fighting was so intense that no one dared retrieve the dead,” said Javier, who spoke with InSight Crime at the end of 2024. “At one point, animals were eating the corpses,” he added, lowering his voice.

Over the last 20 years, Javier has seen how a conflict once rooted in ideology — between guerrillas and paramilitaries — has transformed into a battle over coca crops, drug trafficking corridors, and gold deposits.

Today, a resurgence of violence has been sparked by clashes between Colombia’s three main criminal actors: the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN), the country’s last remaining insurgency; the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC); and dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC), known as the ex-FARC mafia—both products of past demobilization efforts.

“The FARC and ELN say, ‘Leave, or we’ll kill you.’ The AGC says, ‘If you leave, we’ll kill you,’” said Javier. “The communities are left with no way out.”

All three groups have sought talks with the Colombian government under the “Total Peace” plan, which aims to negotiate separately with the country’s illegal armed groups. However, this policy has done little to curb the territorial disputes unfolding in Bajo Cauca and throughout Colombia.

Fighting to Fill the Vacuum

Guerrilla-paramilitary clashes in Bajo Cauca date back to the late 1990s. But over the past two decades, these groups have evolved and become further criminalized. Attempts to demobilize their forces – first the 2006 demobilization of the paramilitaries of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC), then the 2016 peace deal with the FARC – led to new conflicts as splinter groups and rivals fought to fill the power vacuum and control the criminal economies left behind.

SEE ALSO: Colombia’s Peace Efforts Spark Criminal Disputes and Divisions 

The latest escalation began when the AGC — the most powerful criminal group in Bajo Cauca — moved into the Serranía de San Lucas. Located in the south of the neighboring department of Bolívar, this mountain range is rich in gold deposits and coca crops and has long been an ELN stronghold. Homicides in El Bagre, which connects San Lucas with the Bajo Cauca, rose to 29 last year, up from 20 in 2023. But murders are just one element of the conflict, which has also led to mass displacements and the confinement of whole communities. Some 145 people were displaced to El Bagre in December 2024 following clashes. By early January 2025, that number had risen to 230.

Still, the violence continued. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 395 people were forcibly displaced in Montecristo, southern Bolívar, on February 7, while another 144 were confined to their homes by the fighting. On February 18, 26 people were displaced from Segovia, which borders El Bagre to the south, due to fighting between the ELN and the AGC.

“What we’re seeing now is the AGC gaining ground against the ELN,” Javier said.

To defend its turf, the ELN has allied with the 18th and 36th Fronts of the Central General Staff (Estado Mayor de los Bloques y Frente – EMBF).

“The ELN’s alliance with the FARC dissidents is what’s stopped the AGC from advancing in the Serranía de San Lucas,” he added.

Local police told InSight Crime that another group, known as “Los de Abajo” or “Los de Cuturrú” — a remnant of longtime AGC rivals the “Caparros” — also appears to have joined the alliance.

What’s at Stake in Bajo Cauca?

The conflict is driven by a fight for control of a region brimming with criminal opportunities. The area contains over 8,000 hectares of coca crops and vast gold reserves. Between January and September 2024, 11.64 metric tons of gold were extracted from the subregion, accounting for 54% of all gold mined in Antioquia and 41% of Colombia’s total.

Both the AGC and the ELN profit from mining by charging fees for moving machinery and supplies, extorting legal and illegal miners, and taking a cut of gold production or fixed fees per mine.

SEE ALSO: Major Criminal Powers Dispute Key Corridors in Colombia

Bajo Cauca is also a strategic point on Colombia’s criminal map, connecting coca-producing zones in the east and north with drug dispatch points on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Controlling this corridor guarantees illicit revenue flows.

But beyond the economic value, groups with deep roots in the region, such as the ELN, are clinging violently to their turf.

“This is about ego. One group wants to take over, the other says, ‘You’re not pushing me out,’” said a humanitarian worker based in Bajo Cauca who asked not to be identified as they had not been authorized to speak publicly.

Bajo Cauca’s Expanding Battle Lines

While violence is concentrated on the border with southern Bolívar, tensions are rising elsewhere in the region. In Cáceres, a municipality in central-western Bajo Cauca, authorities reported the forced displacement of several families in December 2024 due to clashes in San Pablo, a key mining hub.

The AGC has established a permanent presence in San Pablo, where it has battled both the Colombian army and the ELN. In December 2024, four AGC members were killed in an airstrike in the area.

In neighboring Tarazá, in western Bajo Cauca, social leaders, civil society members, and local officials told InSight Crime that tensions are flaring in various hamlets historically used for coca cultivation and cocaine production. The sources warned that violence is likely to worsen in the coming months.

“What’s next? The same as always: massacres, displacement, threats, forced disappearances,” said a public official in Tarazá, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

In early March, the ELN detonated an explosive device on the road linking Tarazá and Medellín, the capital of Antioquia. In December 2024, the group attacked a public transport vehicle on the same route, injuring two people.

The deteriorating security is reflected in homicide statistics: Cáceres recorded 34 murders in 2024, up from 18 in 2023; Tarazá saw 29 homicides, compared to 12 the year before, according to National Police data. Yet killings are only one metric — communities are also suffering from a range of abuses that underscore the grip these groups have over daily life.

The Mechanics of Social Control

As criminal clashes have intensified in Bajo Cauca, so has the pressure on civilians. Each group uses fear and violence to enforce rules, assert control, and project authority.

“The AGC is using the same tactics the FARC used — like laying landmines,” said Javier.

The now-defunct FARC was notorious for mining territory to slow the army’s advance and protect coca fields. While the practice declined after the FARC’s 2016 demobilization, the AGC appears to be reviving it in areas like Cáceres and El Bagre to keep guerrilla rivals out. Mines are often placed along footpaths, trapping rural communities.

SEE ALSO: What Is Behind Increased Violence in Colombia?

The AGC has also imposed rules and distributed behavior manuals, mandating curfews and punishing rule-breakers. The group has confined entire communities during clashes with rivals.

The civilian population has been caught between the competing demands of armed groups. One group demands displacement; another forbids it. Some communities have taken a stand.

“People were displaced for about 15 days. When they came back, they reopened their businesses and agreed to resist the groups,” said Javier. “They told them, ‘Your fight is your problem. Go kill each other — but let us work.’”

However, while Javier and other residents of Bajo Cauca seek to break the cycles of violence they have suffered for generations, the profits on offer from mining and drug trafficking mean armed groups will continue to fight over the territory, and violence will remain their main tool to assert their power.

*Name changed to protect identity.

This article, written by Sara Garcia and Alicia Florez, 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.

Agradecimiento a:

• La gente de San Basilio de Palenque, los Palenqueros
• El Maestro Rafael Cassiani QDEP, y su familia
• El grupo Kombilesa Mi, especialmente Ali Mc Pm & Afroneto
• HBCU Connect, LLC
• Chevron Petroleum
• The Talento Total Foundation

Cinematografia y dirección: Loren Moss

Fotografia adicional: Liliana Padierna

Editora: Sofia Figueroa Imfeld

Versión en inglés pendiente.

Producido por Unido Digital Media, LLC https://unidodigital.media/

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Espero que te gusta nuestra ultima documental cortometraje. Les pido darnos un like, comentario, y siguenos…tan importante, comparte con todos! (Luego tendremos una versión en inglés también)

One of the objectives of the government’s Foreign Trade Policy is to promote the development and export of products from the industrial, agro-industrial, and agricultural sectors, moving toward a decarbonized, inclusive, sustainable, and knowledge-based economy.

Of the sectors that make up the non-mining sectors, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MinCIT) the one that registered the greatest growth in its exports was agriculture, which, although it represents 46.6% of this basket, registered an increase of 43.8% in its foreign sales.

In this segment, products such as beef stood out for their sales abroad, which increased 223.4%; coffee, 108.6%; flowers, 15.4%; and Tahiti lemon, 6.1%, among others. On the side of industrial products, a group that also includes agro-industrial products, exports increased 11.7%, and their participation in this non-mining basket was 53.3%.

Products such as palm oil, with an increase of 35.8%; electrical transformers, 22.9%; beauty preparations, 18.8%; doors, windows and their frames, 15.7%; plastics and their manufactures, 10.3%; refrigerators 8% and chocolates, candies and candies with an increase of 3.2%.

On the other hand, of the 10 main departments that export non-mining energy goods and accounted for 93.5% of those sales in the month, 9 registered growth.

These were: Antioquia, 30.4%; Bogotá, 14.9%; Atlántico, 10.6%; Valle del Cauca, 16.8%; Cundinamarca, 16.5%; Bolívar, 22.3%; Caldas, 109.7%; Huila, 67.8%, and Magdalena, 12.9%.

Photo credit: MinCIT.

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.