Colombia government clears 'conversation space' with Clan del Golfo gang

BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombia's government on Monday gave the green light to installing a "social-judicial conversation space" with the Clan del Golfo, the country's largest criminal gang, to assess how willing it is to accept the rule of law and set terms for its possible surrender to justice.

The decision is part of efforts by leftist President Gustavo Petro to put an end to Colombia's six decades of internal conflict, which have left more than 450,000 dead.

The Clan del Golfo, also known as the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) and sometimes the Gaitanista Army, is Colombia's largest criminal gang with some 5,000 people, mostly former members of far-right paramilitary squads.

In a resolution published on Monday, the government said it "authorizes the installation of a socio-judicial conversation space between authorized representatives of the government and the representative members of ... the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia."

Far-right paramilitary groups fought Colombia's leftist guerrillas in violent clashes that frequently saw war crimes and other human rights violations.

Colombia's government suspended a bilateral ceasefire with the Clan del Golfo in March last year, accusing it of attacks on the military amid protests by informal miners in the country’s northwest.

In May 2023, the Clan del Golfo rejected a deal that would have included reduced jail sentences in exchange for cooperation with law enforcement, instead saying it would seek a peace deal with the government.

The Clan del Golfo is accused of drug trafficking and illegal mining, as well as carrying out murders, forced displacements and other crimes.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Kylie Madry and Leslie Adler)