Security update
October 7: a terrorist list and a warning to the CRIC
Here's what happened since the last update, and what each one means.
1A new anti-terrorism law
The government presents its draft Anti-Terrorism Statute to the Criminal Policy Council on Thursday, October 8, and then sends it to Congress. Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara is in charge of it. It creates a public list of terrorist groups and people, and anyone can search it on a Defense Ministry website. Anyone on the list has their bank accounts and assets frozen and can't get state contracts or subsidies. Sentences go up by a third when a crime benefits a listed group, and there are new crimes for drones, illegal mining, extortion and attacks on infrastructure. Leaders go into a special prison regime with separate wings, limited visits and no calls except with their lawyers.
What it meansThis is the legal side of the fight. Part of it is a statutory law, so it needs an absolute majority in Congress and an automatic review by the Constitutional Court before it takes effect.
2A warning to the CRIC
The Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca, CRIC) has called a summit and mobilization for October 11 to 14 in Caldono, Cauca. After a cabinet meeting of more than 7 hours on October 6, the president said: "I will not allow blockades of any kind, violence, or actions meant to paralyze the regions." He said peaceful protest has every guarantee, and: "The indigenous peoples of Colombia are one thing, and the CRIC is something very different." He ordered an audit, peso by peso, of 1.13 trillion pesos delivered to the CRIC through agreements with the state. The CRIC hasn't answered yet.
What it means for usThis connects to our Cauca report. The money was an argument on social media. Now it's an official audit. If you travel in Cauca October 11 to 14, check the roads before you go.
3Massacre number 97 in Segovia, Antioquia
On October 5, 3 bodies were found in rural Segovia with their hands tied, signs of torture and gunshot wounds. Indepaz counts it as the 97th massacre of 2026 and names Front 4 as possibly responsible. The ELN, FARC dissidents and the Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo) all operate in the area. 5 bodies were found in Segovia in 2 days.
What it meansThat's 97 massacres this year. Indepaz counted 78 in all of 2025.
4"Mongolo" captured near Santa Marta
On October 5, the army and the police anti-kidnapping unit (GAULA) captured alias "Mongolo" at a checkpoint in rural Santa Marta. He's the finance chief of the Sierra Nevada Conquistadores (Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada, ACSN) and the deputy of their leader, alias "Pinocho," since 2019. He's accused of extortion and targeted killings in Magdalena and La Guajira, and of the vehicle burnings on the Caribbean highway (Troncal del Caribe). He had a revolver and a fake ID.
What it meansThis is the man who kept Pinocho informed. The operation against Pinocho is moving closer to him.
5Jail for 2 men in the Cali truck bomb case
On October 7, a judge sent Sebastián Torres Caicedo and Sebastián Rojas Becerra to jail while they're tried for the August 21, 2025 truck bomb near the Marco Fidel Suárez air base in Cali. 6 people died, one of them 17, and more than 80 were wounded. Prosecutors say Torres moved one of the drivers to a safe house and Rojas kept watch on a motorcycle. Both say they're innocent.
What it meansThe attack is blamed on the Jaime Martínez front of Mordisco's dissidents. In our last update, that same front was blamed for the 400 kilos of explosives stopped on the way to Cali on October 6.
6An armed strike was being planned in Caquetá
Blu Radio reports that "La Morocha," captured on October 6, was ordering an armed strike in Caquetá for October 14.
What it means for usIf you travel in Caquetá around October 14, watch the local news.
On social media
He hasn't posted since 5:20 PM on October 6. He didn't post the cabinet meeting, the CRIC warning or the anti-terrorism law on X. The prison transfer post kept growing overnight: 267,000 views and 11,500 likes, up from 79,000 views. The replies are support, with one new demand. The most-liked critical reply: "President, ask the Supreme Court: what was it that Senator Martha Peralta Epieyu gave them? Why is there so much complacency with the political allies that Petro had here in La Guajira? The thievery doesn't stop. Check the SECOP." (89 likes) The supportive side: "Well done, President, standing firm for the homeland." (43 likes) The Haiti post reached 500,000 views and 8,700 likes. This comes from the top replies on X, not a poll.
I support most of this. But it doesn't go far enough. These groups use any space they're given to reset and grow. They need to be crushed, not contained.