Colombia ex-guerrillas disarm in rural handover as new hardline president raises uncertainty over peace process

In mid-June in southern Colombia, 99 armed guerrilla fighters were flown by helicopter to a small rural settlement where they lined up and, one by one, handed their weapons to government officials, including rifles, pistols, machine guns and grenades, according to an account published Saturday by The Guardian.

The disarmament was carried out under the framework of the outgoing government’s “total peace” plan, an initiative intended to reduce violence by bringing armed groups into a negotiated process. The same report said that while the plan was designed to affect the scale of Colombia’s conflict, it resulted in only 99 armed combatants out of roughly 30,000 laying down their arms.

The handover has now become a focal point for fighters and surrounding communities as Colombia’s political leadership has changed. The Guardian reported that President Abelardo De la Espriella has taken a position opposed to existing peace agreements, raising concerns among former guerrillas about whether disarmament will translate into promised pathways such as reintegration measures, legal certainty, or protections from retaliation.

The ceremony itself underscored the logistical and symbolic nature of the outgoing “total peace” effort. By using helicopters and bringing fighters to a remote settlement rather than a central location, the disarmament highlighted both the government’s operational capacity and the security sensitivities involved in collecting weapons from individuals affiliated with an armed movement.

The new political direction is expected to affect how the state handles armed-group demobilization and any related administrative steps, the report said. For the 99 fighters who have already surrendered weapons, the immediate question is whether their status will be recognized and preserved under the next administration’s approach, or whether they could face renewed legal and security scrutiny.

For families and community members in rural areas, the shift in policy can also matter in day-to-day terms, particularly where local economies may be intertwined with armed-group presence or where former fighters are expected to transition into civilian life. The Guardian’s account describes uncertainty among those who have already disarmed, pointing to a gap between the act of handing over weapons and the longer-term terms that determine safety and reintegration.

As Colombia’s leadership and bureaucracy navigate the political change, authorities will likely face pressure to clarify what administrative protections will apply to demobilized individuals and what happens to remaining disarmament steps that did not occur under the prior timeline. The Guardian’s report places emphasis on the limited number of fighters who completed disarmament so far, a factor that could shape how quickly any revised peace approach either expands or is curtailed.