Colombian president denies seeking ‘revenge’ against peace tribunal

Colombia’s president on Sunday denied having a “policy of revenge” against a special peace tribunal that administers justice for the worst crimes of Colombia’s decades-long armed civil conflict.

A pro-government senator on Thursday introduced a bill to reduce the state budget allocated to the tribunal by around US$31 million – a proposal supported by president Abelardo de la Espriella, who has promised to use force against rebels, and has argued that the court has been too lenient on them.

“I do not have a policy of revenge against the JEP,” De la Espriella said on X, using a Spanish acronym for the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, which was created under a landmark peace deal with the now-defunct rebel army FARC in 2016.

“I have a duty to bring order to spending, demand results, and allocate the State’s limited resources to a justice system that serves everyone, not to a tribunal that a segment of the country perceives…as a system of benefits,” he added.

Under the proposed bill, the savings from cutting the tribunal’s budget from US$230 million to US$199 million would go toward the traditional justice system.

The tribunal’s president Alejandro Ramelli on Friday likened the budget cut to “economic asphyxiation.”

The tribunal, which issued its first verdicts last year, hands down alternative sentences to prison time as part of broader efforts to achieve a lasting peace after a conflict that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

In one ruling, senior FARC leaders were sentenced to eight years of community service, as well as having their movements restricted, after carrying out over 21,000 kidnappings.

Twelve retired military officers responsible for the disappearance and extrajudicial execution of civilians received similar sentences.