President Gustavo Petro assured through his X account that he will begin talks with the armed group Clan del Golfo and that these conversations will be mediated by Qatar.
“I have initiated contacts with the Gulf clan with the mediation of the Qatari government. It is time to restart contacts with the ELN. I am responding to Mr. Pablo Beltrán.Try the peace in Colombia. I don’t know if it’s necessary to destroy an entire city and kill 70,000 people to carry out a humanitarian exchange,” he stated.
I have initiated contacts with the Gulf Clan with the intermediation of the Qatari government.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 13, 2025
It is time to restart contacts with the ELN. I am responding to Mr. Pablo Beltrán. Try the peace in Colombia. I don't know if it is necessary to destroy an entire city and kill 70,000 people to make a…
The announcement comes after a revolt against National Army soldiers in Sonsón, Antioquia, after an operation was carried out. Heavy fighting occurred during this military action.
The fact that Qatar will be an intermediary in these talks is important because, according to Petro, some members of the Gulf Clan would have influence in what he has called the Drug Trafficking Board, in which there are powerful criminals who have a presence in Dubai.
There would be their top leader, Jobanis de Jesús Ávila, known by the alias Chiquito Malo.
One of the characteristics of this criminal organization is that they have ties to other criminal networks outside the country. For example, it was reported that they had links with Los Choneros in Ecuador.
One of their main businesses is drug trafficking, but they also commit other crimes such as extortion, murder, and illegal mining.
In recent days, an operation was carried out to dismantle 14 tunnels used by this criminal group to illegally extract gold in Buriticá, Antioquia, which President Petro described as the largest operation against illegal mining.
“The current armed groups are groups that revolve around the illicit economy; without an illicit economy, the armed mafia ceases to exist,” said the president during a joint operation between the Army and the Police in which hundreds of uniformed officers participated. In the case of the ELN, to whom Petro extended the invitation to return to the negotiating table, the negotiation table with that guerrilla group broke down due to the ELN’s failure to comply with the ceasefire and because they continued to commit several crimes. Meanwhile, the guerrillas argued that the Army and the Public Forces continued to attack them.
