Colombia's Transitional Marches On Despite U.S. Aid Cuts And Mounting Violence

When USAID shuttered programs worldwide in February, Colombia emerged as one of the most affected countries, losing some 70% of all humanitarian funding. The country, one of Washington's oldest and closest allies in Latin America, has for decades counted on U.S. support for a range of initiatives.

One of the most significant areas of impact was the implementation of the 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), a transitional body created in 2017 to deliver justice to the victims of the armed conflict, warned in February that the USAID cuts would impact some of its most important cases.

The JEP works with demobilized fighters and victims to investigate grave human rights abuses, producing an official record of crimes committed during the conflict and, in some cases, preparing sanctions against the "most responsible" perpetrators.

Now, almost six months after USAID's suspension, Colombia faces a deteriorating internal security situation and increasingly strained relations with Washington. Amid these challenges, Latin Times spoke to JEP's President, Alejandro Ramelli, about the unprecedented circumstance facing the justice body.

Resurgence of insecurity

The JEP's mandate is to provide justice to people affected by Colombia's internal conflict before the peace deal was signed in 2016.

But its critics question its relevance amid surging violence in Colombia, which is creating new victims as well as subjecting previous ones to fresh crimes.

For many, the shooting and posterior death of senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay in June was a turning point, stirring fears of a return to the political violence of the 1980s and 1990s, the last time a presidential candidate was assassinated.

Speaking to Latin Times, Ramelli described the attempt as "a major attack against Colombia's democracy," adding, "it is almost impossible not to recall what happened in [the 1990s]."

But he was optimistic that the country remains very different from before, saying "we are not in the era of Pablo Escobar."

A lot has changed in Colombia since that era, from President Álvaro Uribe's (2002-2010) controversial offensive against leftist rebels to President Juan Manuel Santos' (2010-2018) 2016 peace deal.

But much remains the same: although the FARC was Colombia's largest rebel army, other armed groups did not demobilize in 2016. Some members of the FARC also refused to sign the deal and many others returned to war after giving up arms.

Now, remnants of the defunct FARC and groups like the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla and Gaitanist Army of Colombia (EGC) paramilitaries continue to wage war on each other and the state.

2025 is set to be the worst year for Colombia's conflict since 2015 in terms of its humanitarian impact, according to a July report by the International Committee for the Red Cross.

But Ramelli insisted that intensified violence and the ongoing threat from armed groups do not deter the JEP from pursuing its mandate of delivering justice to victims prior to 2016.

"What exists at this moment is a persistence of the conflict. So, that is what we have to work with," said the magistrate.

He cited a recent visit to Caicedo, a town in the central Colombian department of Antioquia, to meet with former rebel commanders. The department's governor was kidnapped and later killed by the FARC in 2003, and armed groups including the EGC and FARC dissidents remain active in the area.

"I was in Caicedo – the president of the JEP – and I went there. Of course, there was a threat... [but] we went anyway, we held the hearing anyway," said Ramelli.

Despite persistent and novel dangers, the JEP appears determined to continue pursuing its mandate.

USAID cuts

In addition to mounting security challenges, the JEP faces another threat to its ability to fulfil its mandate – the loss of one of its largest financial backers.

Donald Trump's executive order to freeze nearly all foreign assistance blew a $3.5 million USD hole in the JEP's annual budget.

While the State Department resumed roughly a third of the frozen funds in March, Ramelli told Latin Times these have not yet been delivered.

"There are some funds from the State Department that we initially understood to have been unfrozen, but apparently that is not happening so quickly," said the magistrate.

Ramelli explained the cuts will have a direct impact on the JEP's ability to prosecute cases, specifically those related to the victimization of ethnic communities and sexual violence.

He also noted how the USAID cuts are indirectly hindering the JEP's work, with partner organizations like the United Nations being forced to shutter some operations in Colombia.

Now, with heightened tensions between Washington and Bogota – including their ambassadors being briefly recalled in July – further cuts are expected.

But Ramelli insisted the JEP will find a way to make up for its budget deficit.

"We will make a greater effort to budget, impose greater restrictions on ourselves, but we will fulfill our obligations to the victims and we will move forward with these cases," noted the magistrate.

But with the House Committee on Appropriations recently proposing a 50% cut to all non-military assistance to Colombia and further sanctions expected if Colombia is decertified in September over rising cocaine production, the JEP will undoubtedly face more hurdles in the coming months.

Nevertheless, Ramelli vows to move forward regardless: "Justice continues, regardless of what is happening. It continues to function, with limitations, with difficulties, but with every determination to do so."