In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro will likely continue to negotiate cease-fires with ideologically motivated armed groups, while also increasing security operations against criminal groups, which will likely result in higher levels of violence, safety concerns, and shipping disruptions in departments where these groups have operations. On Feb. 20, Colombia's defense minister announced that the military would resume aerial bombings targeting criminal actors like the Gulf Clan, a policy that was suspended just two weeks after President Petro took office in August 2022. The announcement marks a break with the president's flagship security policy, ''Paz Total'' (or Total Peace), which has seen Petro -- a former member of the M-19 guerilla group himself -- engage in simultaneous cease-fire negotiations with Colombia's largest guerilla movements, dissident groups and criminal actors. According to an April 2023 report from the Bogota-based Ideas for Peace Foundation, Petro's Total Peace initiative has been somewhat effective, or...
