The Colombian Gaitanist Forces (EGC), the country’s largest criminal organization, announced it would suspend peace talks in Qatar after Colombian President Gustavo Petro reportedly promised to target its leaders.
The EGC, also known as the Gulf Clan, indicated in a social media post on Wednesday that the suspension would continue until it receives an update from the Petro administration.
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“By order of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the EGC delegation to the negotiating table suspends its discussions with the government in order to discuss and clarify the veracity of the information,” the group said in a statement on X.
“If the media reports are true, this would be a violation of integrity and the commitments made in Doha.”
Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez confirmed the report late Wednesday, sharing a list of three drug “kings” that the Petro regime prioritizes as “high-level targets.”
Among the three targets was EGC leader Jesús Avila Villadiego, also known as Chiquito Maro. The reward for his capture was set at 5 billion Colombian pesos, equivalent to $1.37 million.
The other two “kingpins” included a top rebel commander identified only by his alias, Ivan Mordisco and Pablito.
The announcement echoes a private announcement solidified in a closed-door meeting at the White House on Tuesday, when Petro met directly with US President Donald Trump for the first time.
President Trump has been pressuring the Petro government for months to take more “aggressive action” to combat drug trafficking from Colombia.
In response, Petro and his team on Tuesday submitted a document to the Trump administration regarding the counternarcotics operation titled “Colombia: America’s Number One Ally Against Narco-Terrorists.”
Presentations included statistics on cocaine seizures, plans to eradicate coca crops, and the arrests and killings of senior drug traffickers.
But negotiations with the EGC are in jeopardy due to a pledge to cooperate with the United States to arrest Chiquito Malo.
Questions have also been raised about the future of Petro’s signature policy of “total peace,” which aims to open talks with rebel groups and criminal networks to end Colombia’s 60-year civil war.
According to a recent report by the Ideas for Peace Foundation, the EGC is a major criminal group with approximately 10,000 members.
In December, the United States also designated the organization as a “foreign terrorist organization” as part of its ongoing efforts to crack down on drug trafficking.
The EGC has been holding high-level discussions with the Colombian government in Doha since September 2025. The two countries signed a “Pledge for Peace” on December 5, outlining a roadmap for the EGC to lay down its arms.
The first step toward demobilization was to concentrate troops in temporary areas starting in March. In December, the government suspended arrest warrants for EGC commanders, including Chiquito Malo, who were scheduled to travel to these areas.
But analysts say the administration’s plan to capture drug lords announced at the White House yesterday has destabilized the process.
“[The EGC]interprets this as a direct threat that if a commander with an arrest warrant goes to a temporary zone, he is at high risk,” said Gerson Arias, a conflict and security researcher at the Ideas for Peace Foundation, a Bogotá-based think tank.
In January, Colombia’s Supreme Court approved Chiquito Malo’s extradition to the United States if he is arrested, but the final decision on extradition rests with the president.
Petro signaled support for the arrest and extradition of the EGC commander by declaring the drug lord a “target” of the White House.
The possibility of U.S. involvement in the operation also appears to be worrying criminal organizations, experts said.
Laura Bonilla, deputy director of the Colombian think tank Foundation for Peace and Reconciliation, said: “There is a big difference between Chiquito Malo being pursued solely by the Colombian government and being the target of a joint strategic value initiative involving U.S. intelligence.”
The EGC suspended peace talks on Wednesday, but stressed that it remains ready to resume negotiations.
“We need to make it clear that the suspension is temporary, not permanent. This indicates that (negotiations) will resume soon,” the group’s lawyer Ricardo Giraldo told Al Jazeera.
Giraldo added that for negotiations to continue, the EGC requires “legal and personal security guarantees” and “fulfillment of the commitments agreed in Doha, Qatar.”
