Overview
- The State Department listed the group as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, triggering asset freezes, entry bans, criminal penalties for material support, and potential sanctions exposure for non‑U.S. partners and banks.
- Officials called the group a violent criminal network financed by cocaine trafficking and blamed it for attacks on officials and civilians, with Colombian intelligence estimating roughly 9,000 fighters under leader Jobanis “Chiquito Malo” Ávila.
- Colombia and the group are negotiating in Doha under President Gustavo Petro’s Total Peace plan, including a December 5 agreement on temporary location zones and a provisional suspension of extraditions during talks, which analysts say now face legal and security complications.
- Experts warn the designation could impede guarantees needed for negotiations and risk a surge in violence, though past talks with FARC and ELN progressed despite U.S. terrorist listings.
- The action aligns with the Trump administration’s strategy to treat regional cartels as national‑security threats, following prior sanctions, Colombia’s addition to a non‑cooperating list, and recent U.S. strikes on suspected drug‑smuggling vessels.