The government of Gustavo Petro ordered the declassification of the files of Colombia’s former and controversial intelligence agency, a move that entails confronting a past marked by links between state apparatuses and paramilitary groups, as well as human rights violations.
This week, a presidential decree dated Dec. 22 was made official, ordering the lifting of confidentiality and the declassification of the archives of the defunct Administrative Department of Security (DAS), the controversial intelligence agency that operated for more than half a century in the country and was dissolved by President Juan Manuel Santos in 2011 following scandals involving illegal wiretapping, political persecution, and ties to paramilitary groups.
The measure was officially announced at an event in the Plaza de Armas of the Casa de Nariño and involves opening to public scrutiny at least more than 57,000 boxes of physical documents and nearly 48,000 electronic and analog media, which are held under the custody of the General Archive of the Nation.
During his official speech, Petro emphasized that the declassification represents an act of historical reparation and transparency, offering public apologies on behalf of the state to the victims of persecution and of serious human rights violations documented in those files.
The president also linked the opening and access to information to the pursuit of truth, justice, and nonrepetition — pillars that human rights organizations have demanded for years and that now find tangible support in this decree.
Colombia to declassify files from former Intelligence Agency
DAS was created in 1960 as the state intelligence and counterintelligence agency tasked with protecting Colombia’s internal and external security, in a Cold War context and amid the emergence of alternative movements close to communism and to both political and insurgent proposals.
After more than five decades of operation, it was finally dismantled in 2011 by order of then-President Juan Manuel Santos, in light of the accumulation of evidence showing that its operations had strayed from their legitimate functions to engage in illegal surveillance, arbitrary interventions, and persecution of human rights defenders, journalists, judges, and political opponents.
Revelations of interceptions without judicial authorization and collaboration with paramilitary structures became part of a dark chapter in the country’s recent history, generating public distrust and a deep wound in social memory.
The declassification of these files brings to the table documents that may contain compelling evidence of those acts and, eventually, serve as evidentiary material in judicial proceedings, investigations by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), and historical memory studies.
Experts and organizations have pointed out that the information collected by the DAS includes patterns of state persecution, stigmatization campaigns, and irregular activities that until now remained in the shadows. Opening these documents could finally shed light on the scope and mechanisms of those clandestine operations, allowing the reconstruction of a narrative based on primary sources rather than fragmented testimonies.
Although the declassification was ordered by the executive, it does not imply that all information will be immediately accessible to any citizen or researcher. The decree itself establishes a rigorous technical process that includes the organization, restoration, foliation, and digitization of the documents by the General Archive of the Nation.
Additionally, the National Intelligence Directorate will be tasked with anonymizing sensitive data, concealing names and details that could compromise national security or violate the rights of third parties. This phase is key to balancing documentary openness with the protection of information that, for legitimate reasons, must still be safeguarded.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Nation has been designated to exercise oversight and preventive control functions, ensuring that the process of custody and review of the archives is carried out in accordance with the law and without undue alterations.
Progress in the declassification is expected to be reported periodically and, once the technical phases are completed, citizens will be able to access digital versions for public consultation of many of these documents.
However, expectations are mixed: Some view this opening as an unprecedented advance toward transparency and justice, while others warn of possible institutional resistance or complications arising from the scale and sensitive nature of the material.
Beyond declassification: memory, justice, and nonrepetition
This decree not only has administrative and legal implications; it represents a symbolic commitment to confronting past state abuses head-on, recognizing that truth is a necessary condition for reparations for victims and for the consolidation of a democratic state that does not repeat the mistakes of its own history.
The explicit acknowledgment of responsibilities, reflected in the public apologies and the willingness to open the archives, can strengthen trust in institutions and offer victims and their families a tangible tool to understand what happened, seek justice, and chart paths toward reconciliation.
The declassification of DAS archives, far from being a purely documentary act, stands as a defining moment in Colombia’s policy on memory and truth. Its real impact will depend largely on how that information is used to clarify events, promote judicial processes, and build an honest historical narrative that recognizes the lights and shadows of the state apparatus in times of conflict.
In a country where the past has often been a terrain of silences and omissions, the decision to open these archives is an invitation — and a challenge — to look head-on, with all its nuances, at what was and what must be avoided.