Bogotá, Colombia – The Gaitanist Army of Colombia (EGC), the biggest illegal armed group in the country, said today it will suspend talks with Colombia’s government after President Gustavo Petro proposed joint operations with Washington against their leader.
The EGC, designated a terrorist organization by Washington in December, has been engaged in peace negotiations with the Colombian government since September in Qatar.
But after the Petro administration presented U.S. President Donald Trump with a document on Tuesday naming EGC leader Chiquito Malo as one of three “joint high-value targets”, the group announced its temporary withdrawal from peace talks.
“President Petro released the names of three drug lords in Colombia: alias Pablito, Iván Mordisco, and Chiquito Malo. The government committed to neutralizing them within two months, according to an agreement with Trump,” read a statement by the group on an X account which its leadership confirmed belonged to the group.
“By order of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the EGC delegation at the negotiating table will temporarily suspend talks with the government to consult and clarify the veracity of the information,” continued the announcement.
Chiquito Malo is wanted in Colombia and the United States on cocaine trafficking charges. Last month, the Colombian Supreme Court approved the alleged drug lord’s extradition to the U.S. in the eventuality of his capture.
He leads the EGC, a group with some 10,000 members involved in drug trafficking, illegal gold mining, and large-scale extortion across Colombia.
The group has been engaged in peace talks with the Petro administration in Doha since September 2025, with the two signing a “commitment to peace” in December. As part of the deal, the EGC agreed to move to ‘temporary location zones’ as early as March, which are a first step towards disarmament and demobilization.
Shortly after, the government signed an order suspending arrest warrants for five of the group’s leaders, including Chiquito Malo, on December 24.
However, Petro naming the drug lord as a key “target” at the White House yesterday creates doubts over whether the government will keep its word.
The suspension, which the EGC maintains is temporary, may just be an opportunity for it to reassess its negotiating position, according to experts.
“I think it’s relatively normal and straightforward in conversations like these to enter into internal consultations about how to proceed,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, deputy director for Latin America at International Crisis Group.
Others note that the dialogues had already reached a standstill due to a lack of legal guarantees surrounding the temporary location zones.
“The process was already reaching a deadlock,” said Laura Bonilla, deputy director at the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation.
But the EGC has expressed willingness to continue negotiations, and some analysts believe the talks can advance.
“I don’t necessarily believe that it’s an end to dialogue. I think it’s relatively normal and straightforward in conversations like these to enter into internal consultations about how to proceed,” said Dickinson.
Featured image description: EGC soldiers.
Featured image credit: EGC via elgaitanista.org
