Paramilitary group AGC, the largest illegal armed group in Colombia, on Thursday announced a unilateral ceasefire while they wait for the government to prepare their surrender.
President Juan Manuel Santos applauded the decision but warned the government would not cease operations until the surrender of the estimated 7,000 members of the country’s largest drug trafficking organization.
The AGC controls many drug trafficking routes in areas previously controlled by paramilitary predecessor AUC or their arch enemies, Communist guerrillas.
It also is one of the main threats to human rights or victim defenders.
Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
The AGC did not specify what the ceasefire would include, but urged ELN guerrillas to end turf wars in west Colombia that have put peace talks with the rebel group under pressure.
The government in September asked Prosecutor General Nestor Humberto Martinez to talk with the group after leader “Otoniel” offered to surrender to justice.
The group said to unilaterally cease fire “despite the fact that there is currently no regulatory framework for the collective acceptance of the AGC.”
The paramilitaries said that “we remain committed to the efforts that will enable us to contribute to a comprehensive, total and lasting peace with the commitment of non-repetition for the country.”
Claiming to be of political nature, the group has claimed to have surged as a paramilitary force to defend against guerrillas in abandoned by the state.
The group has reportedly has demanded adequate state presence in AGC territory to prevent new violence.
Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
While the FARC demobilized earlier this year, turf wars broke out in former guerrilla territory after the government failed to effectively replace the clandestine rule.
According to the government, the “Clan del Golfo” is an organized crime organization that has assassinated two dozen policemen and has downplayed the group’s territorial power.
Otoniel and other founding members of the group were AUC members who abandoned a 2003-2006 demobilization process.
Since 2006, the group has expanded control to more than 200 municipalities, and even entered cities like Medellin.
The group has been accused of targeting victims of land theft and assassinating social leaders.
If verified, the ceasefire would affect hundreds of thousands of people, particularly along the Pacific and Caribbean coast lines.