Gulf Clan ready to “take control” of Quibdó in Colombia’s Chocó

Colombian President Gustavo Petro received another blow to his “Total Peace” agenda with a dire warning from the country’s High Peace Commissioner, Otty Patiño. According to the senior government official, the Gulf Clan, one of Colombia’s largest illegal criminal organizations, has embarked on a violent campaign to “take control” of Quibdó, departmental capital of Chocó.

The warning from an insider in charge of negotiating a ceasefire with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla, was made during a tense session before lawmakers in the Senate. “The Gulf Clan has decided to take over Quibdó,” said Mr.Patiño, emphasizing the gravity of the situation. “This is not a minor issue. They are murdering, spreading fear, and taking control of local gangs to achieve their ends,” he said.

The situation in Quibdó, a majority Afro-Colombian city that has long struggled with poverty and violence, has deteriorated rapidly in recent months. The Gulf Clan’s move to consolidate power in the region comes as the group faces growing pressure from both the government and rival criminal organizations. According to Mr. Patiño, the Clan has resorted to a brutal campaign of targeted killings and terror to weaken local resistance.

One particularly troubling aspect of the violence, Mr. Patiño noted, is the targeting of women. “We are facing a serious problem in Quibdó today. Many women, who are not even part of these gang structures, are being condemned to death. They are publicly marked by the Gulf Clan on social media, with orders to leave the territory or face the consequences. These are grave issues that we are confronting in these processes,” he said.

The violence appears to be part of a broader strategy by the Gulf Clan to project strength in the face of ongoing peace negotiations with the national government. The group, also known as the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), has expressed a willingness to enter into talks, but only under conditions that would grant them significant concessions.

Days before Mr. Patiño’s warning, several gangs operating in the Chocó region, including “Los Mexicanos,” “Lokos Yam,” and “RPS,” announced an end to a unilateral ceasefire they had previously declared. In a stark statement, these groups vowed to resume military actions to defend their territories against what they described as an encroachment by the Gulf Clan, with the tacit support of local authorities.

“We have observed the advance of the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Gulf Clan) in alliance with the authorities,” the gangs stated. “They are seeking to expand their territorial control in the municipality of Quibdó. They have already taken over neighborhoods, which were previously under the control of Lokos Yam.”

Mr. Patiño also stressed that the government remains committed to pursuing peace with the National Liberation Army (ELN). However, he issued the Maoist guerrilla a stern warning: “The government is willing to open the doors to peace, but we cannot do so while pipelines are being blown up and members of the public security forces are being killed.”

The Gulf Clan, meanwhile, issued a communiqué in which it demands the lifting of arrest warrants against all members of its General Staff as a precondition for advancing peace talks. “We are waiting for the arrest warrants against all members of the General Joint Staff to be lifted in their entirety to give solidity to the process and ensure that each and every block and front of the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia is represented,” the group stated.

As the situation in Quibdó continues to deteriorate, the Gulf Clan’s ambitions in Chocó highlight the challenges facing a government where the High Peace Commissioner had to admit that the Colombian state is on the brink of losing an entire city to one illegal armed group.