MEDELLIN, Colombia – There were 35 massacres in Colombia in the first three months of 2026, making it the most violent quarter in a decade, according to the Institute for Peace and Development (Indepaz).
According to figures from Colombian NGOs, 133 people were killed in the massacres in 17 departments and 34 municipalities.
Nearly a decade after Colombia signed a historic peace deal with FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels, the grim figures come as the country continues to face violence linked to its protracted armed conflict.
The massacre left 74 men, 16 women, and 17 children dead. Forty of the victims have not been identified.
The first massacre of the year, in which three women were killed, occurred on January 3 in Santander de Quilicao, Cauca state. The most violent attack occurred on January 16 in Eletorno, Guaviare province, where 26 people were killed.
This made the first quarter of the year the most violent in over a decade, during which Indepaz recorded nearly 3,000 deaths in more than 700 different massacres.
Thanks to the peace agreement signed between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC in November 2016, 2017 was the year with the least violence, with a total of 33 massacres.
But since Iván Duque was elected in 2018, the annual record of massacres has increased from 39 in the president’s first year to 96 in 2021.
Even under the current Gustavo Petro administration, the figure remains at a similar level, fluctuating between the highest of 94 cases in 2023 and 76 cases in 2024. Petro’s pas total (total peace) policy of responding to violence through negotiations with armed groups has produced mixed results.
The period from 2021 to 2025 will see an average of 303 deaths per year, an average increase of 201 deaths per year over the past five years. Even during the most violent period of the last decade, no quarterly cases were registered as many as what we have seen so far in 2026. There were 17 massacres in the first quarter of 2020, less than half of this year’s figure.
Over the past 10 years, 1,657 men, 285 women and at least 133 children have died. Valle del Cauca was the worst-hit province with 62 massacres and 215 deaths, followed by Cauca with 58 massacres and 200 deaths.
The surge in violence comes at a critical moment in Colombian politics, with presidential elections scheduled for May 31. Petro’s likely successor to the historic agreement, Iván Cepeda, is expected to continue the Paz-wide policy, but other candidates have promised tougher military action against armed groups.
Main image source: Colombian Police via Flickr
