The Gulf Clan, the largest criminal organization operating in Colombia, announced on Thursday its intention to suspend the talks it has been holding for months in Qatar with the government of President Petro, after it became known that the Colombian president made an offer to one of its leaders following the meeting he held yesterday with the President of the United States Donald Trump at the White House.
The statement from the criminal organization, published on its official account on the social network X, argues that the Colombian government would have compromised its neutrality by handing over to the United States a list of drug trafficking kingpins — including the name of its leader, known as alias Chiquito Malo — and by agreeing to joint actions for their capture or neutralization.
Although the suspension was described as “provisional,” the move reveals a marked distrust of the executive’s strategy and complicates what until now had been one of the few windows for peace between the illegal armed group and the Colombian state.
Gulf Clan halts talks with Colombia after Petro–Trump meeting
Until now, the dialogue process in Qatar had been seen as an alternative to armed confrontation, with mediation by countries such as Qatar, Spain, Norway, and Switzerland, which sought to guarantee a negotiating space to put an end to decades of violence associated with drug trafficking and the actions of illegal groups.
However, the inclusion of the names of high-ranking criminal leaders in conversations with Washington, according to the Gaitanista Army of Colombia (EGC, by its acronym in Spanish) — the other name by which the Gulf Clan is known — violates what they consider good-faith commitments assumed in Doha, the venue of the talks.
The organization, responsible for the largest volume of cocaine exports from Colombia, also stated that President Petro “put his personal interests ahead of the greater good, which is peace in the territories,” an accusation that deepens the crisis between the parties.
In the message, the organization stated that President Petro would have handed over to the United States the names of three alleged drug lords — alias Pablito, Ivan Mordisco, and Chiquito Malo — and that the Colombian government would have committed to neutralizing them within two months, as part of an agreement with Trump.
“By order of the Joint General Staff, the EGC delegation at the negotiating table will provisionally suspend talks with the government to carry out consultations and clarify the veracity of the information,” the criminal group posted this morning on its account on the social network X.
Por orden del Estado Mayor Conjunto, la delegación de EGC en la mesa de negociación suspenderá provisionalmente las conversaciones con el gobierno para realizar consultas y aclarar la veracidad de la información. @AlvaroJimenezMi @consejodeestado
— Gaitanistas por el pueblo (@soygaitanista) February 4, 2026
Context of the negotiations
Since September of last year, the government of Gustavo Petro initiated contacts with the Gulf Clan in Doha, with the mediation of Qatar and the oversight of other observer countries. The negotiating table sought to explore possible measures for the gradual demobilization of its members and the reduction of violence in regions affected by the group’s presence.
Experience with other peace processes in Colombia, such as the negotiations with FARC, had generated expectations among political and social sectors about the possibility of moving toward a political solution, although the challenges were evident given the organization’s size, dispersed structure, and criminal nature.
It was in this context that President Petro managed to travel this week to Washington to meet with Trump, in an attempt to restore a bilateral relationship affected by mutual criticism in recent months. The meeting, which included more than two hours of dialogue between the two leaders, focused on security issues and the fight against drug trafficking, as well as other matters of regional interest.
During the subsequent press conference, Petro acknowledged that he handed the U.S. president a list with the names of drug kingpins living abroad, arguing that the pursuit of these high-value targets was key to dismantling transnational criminal structures. The president defended his approach of illicit crop substitution and intelligence, rejecting the traditional policy of a war on drugs that, in his view, has harmed farmers.
🇨🇴 | La Corte Suprema de Justicia de Colombia dio el aval para la extradición de Jobanis de Jesús Ávila Villadiego, alias “Chiquito Malo”, el actual comandante de las Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC). Conozca más sobre este personaje aquí: https://t.co/0TkNHeV1p0 pic.twitter.com/sFMfNNv5zc
— InSight Crime Español (@InSightCrime_es) January 14, 2026
The response of the Gulf Clan
The statement from the Gulf Clan was direct and forceful. The organization reiterated that the alleged handing over of names and the commitment assumed with the United States would constitute a violation of the “good faith” of the agreements reached within the framework of the dialogues in Doha.
Although the names on the list of drug kingpins that Colombia handed to Trump, according to Petro himself, referred to the main bosses who do not live in the country, Colombia’s most important criminal armed group interprets — at least for now — this information as a step backward “in the policy of trust” with the government.
In the same statement, the criminals indicated that they would withdraw from the negotiating table “provisionally” while they carry out internal consultations to verify the veracity of the information that was disseminated. The reference to good faith underscores the group’s perception of betrayal, which until now had maintained an ambivalent position regarding its participation in the dialogues.
EGC also took advantage of the announcement to criticize the Petro government, accusing it of prioritizing its interests over the goal of achieving peace in territories affected by violence. This reproach comes at a delicate moment, when the peace process with the Gulf Clan was moving forward slowly but within an atmosphere of dialogue that many voices consider necessary to reduce violence.
The reaction of the armed group suggests that any action they perceive as aligned with criminal prosecution, especially in coordination with a foreign country, could be interpreted as a breach of negotiated commitments.
In addition, the suspension of the dialogues raises questions about the direction of the country’s peace and security policy, after three years of scant results and loud ruptures, such as those that arose with ELN and with FARC dissident faction led by alias Ivan Mordisco.