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The bilateral ceasefire ended on Tuesday and had been expected to be extended for another six months. On Wednesday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro decided not to extend the bilateral ceasefire with the “General Staff of the Blocks” (EMB), one of the main dissident factions of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

After being in effect for 18 months, the bilateral ceasefire ended on Tuesday and had been expected to be extended for another six months. But that did not happen.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Peace from the Presidency of the Republic published a notice stating that “the parties have 72 hours to relocate to areas where they can implement their own security and protection measures.”

The notice followed several meetings this week between the Petro administration and the dissident delegation led by alias ‘Calarca’ in the municipality of La Macarena. Several agreements emerged from these meetings, but the extension of the ceasefire was not one of them.

EMP negotiator Andrey Avendaño stated that a date has already been set for the seventh round of peace talks, which will take place in Villavicencio, the capital of the Meta department, between May 18 and 24.

“I receive the news of the end of the ceasefire with prudence and respect. For our department, the peace talks have always been an opportunity to end the cruel war that the country endures, but never a space to allow illegal armed groups to strengthen,” said Meta Governor Rafaela Cortes.

Leonardo Gonzalez, director of the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz), considered the Colombian government’s decision “a serious setback for communities living in territories historically affected by armed conflict.”

“This measure not only implies the resumption of hostilities, but also severely hinders the implementation of the State’s social, environmental, and economic programs in areas where institutional presence is already weak or non-existent,” he said.

The Colombian government reported that arrest warrants against EMB members have been reactivated, although it clarified that this does not mean an end to the peace talks.

“The decision not to extend the bilateral ceasefire does not affect the recognition of EMB representatives as part of this process, nor the corresponding suspension of arrest warrants,” authorities said.

In January, the Office of the Ombudsman issued an early warning regarding the risks facing communities in seven departments due to the split of the Central General Staff (EMC)—the main dissident group—from which the General Staff of the Blocks emerged in 2024.

“This Early Warning is issued due to the serious risks to the civilian population resulting from the expansion and/or armed confrontation between the dissident groups of the former FARC under the command of alias ‘Calarca Cordoba’ (EMB) and those under the command of alias ‘Ivan Mordisco’,” the Ombudsman’s Office stated at the time.

The Colombian government and the EMC began negotiations in 2023 until the split of this armed group was confirmed, due to the belligerence of some of its fronts—particularly in the department of Cauca, where a police station was attacked with explosives this Thursday, killing one woman, and injuring another.

Nestor Vera (aka Ivan Mordisco), who was the EMC top leader and is now the head of its most belligerent faction, has been clashing since August 2024 with EMB guerrillas led by Alexander Diaz (aka Calarca Cordoba).

For this reason, the government ceased negotiations with the dissidents under ‘Ivan Mordisco’ but continues talks with those under ‘Calarca Cordoba’, despite the end of the ceasefire.