Colombians head to the polls on May 31 under the shadow of escalating violence, as drone attacks and armed group activity threaten communities across a third of the country's municipalities, leaving thousands of residents fearful for their safety and questioning whether they can even reach polling stations.
In Potrerito, a southwestern village in Jamundi, Gladys Marín lives less than 100 meters from a police station that has become a frequent target for drone-dropped explosives. "You have to stay alert to what is happening, because we live very close to the police station," Marín said, adding that she was unsure whether she would walk across the street to vote at a nearby school on Sunday. Authorities blame the attacks on a rebel faction that rejected a peace agreement signed a decade ago with the Colombian government.
Violence Worsens Under 'Total Peace' Initiative
The election has been cast as a referendum on President Gustavo Petro's policies, especially his controversial "total peace" initiative to negotiate with the country's remaining rebel groups. By most accounts, violence tied to armed groups has worsened under Petro's watch. According to Colombia's Electoral Observation Mission, 386 municipalities, or about a third of the country, are vulnerable to violence from illegal armed groups, and data from the Ideas for Peace Foundation think tank indicates that roughly 27,000 people remain under arms nationwide.
In Robles, a neighboring town in the Jamundi municipality, streets leading to the police station are blocked by improvised barricades, and police are entrenched in sentry posts using shelters made of sandbags and black fabric to scan the sky for approaching drones. Eucaris Zamora had to vacate her home when a cylinder bomb struck it in October, leaving the building partially destroyed. "You pass by the police station with this sense of dread, looking up, hoping you won't run into a nasty surprise," Zamora said.
Drone Warfare Escalates Dramatically
Drones modified to drop explosives have altered the dynamics of Colombia's armed conflict since 2024, posing one of the greatest threats to civilians and security forces alike, particularly along the Venezuelan border, in northern Bolivar province and in southwestern coastal areas. Colombia's Defense Ministry reported that drone attacks hit 333 targets in 2025, up from 61 such incidents recorded in 2024. The army has recorded 107 drone attacks so far this year, and those attacks have claimed the lives of two soldiers.
Guillermo Londoño, a security official in the region of Valle del Cauca, said illegal armed groups in the area have sought to maximize damage through simultaneous, "swarm-style" drone strikes, marking a shift from previous tactics in which attackers would launch attacks with a single drone, reload it, and then resume their assault.
Candidates Divided on Security Approach
Officials in the region believe it has become a casualty of Petro's "total peace" strategy, which is aimed at ending one of the world's longest-running conflicts. Petro has acknowledged that the initiative has failed to achieve its hoped-for outcome of disarming illegal networks, and his approach of being open to talk to every group has hardened up a notch. He has frozen negotiations with some groups because of their continuing violence, while keeping dialogue open with other organizations.
A clear divide has emerged among candidates: on one side are those who favor continuing dialogue with illegal groups, such as Sen. Iván Cepeda, of Petro's political movement; on the other are those who say they would dismantle such efforts and prioritize military pressure, such as Sen. Paloma Valencia, of the opposition Democratic Center, and Abelardo de la Espriella, a self-described admirer of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele who has vowed to crack down on illegal armed groups.
Elizabeth Dickinson, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said, "Right-wing candidates propose a 'hard-line' response that could exacerbate the violence, because the armed groups will respond to pressure from security forces with terror-style attacks, as they lack the means to respond symmetrically, army-to-army."
Communities Bear the Cost
In December, gunmen attacked the police station in the small southern town of Buenos Aires, leaving several officers injured and reducing a local bank and nearby homes to rubble. Among the wreckage was the home of 89-year-old Celimo Enrique Aguilar, who said, "I haven't lost faith that, someday, one might be able to live in peace."
A police officer was seen walking near a branch of the Banco Agrario damaged in an attack by dissidents of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in Buenos Aires, Cauca, ahead of Colombia's presidential election on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Other images from the reporting showed a man riding a motorcycle past the ruins of homes destroyed five months earlier in an attack by dissidents of the former FARC in Buenos Aires, Cauca, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026; a sign set up by dissidents of the former FARC displaying guerrilla leaders by a road to Buenos Aires, Cauca, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026; Eucaris Zamora standing in front of her home destroyed during an attack involving drones by a dissident branch of the former FARC in Robles on Tuesday, May 19, 2026; and a man riding a motorcycle past a barricade blocking streets in Potrerito on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, following attacks by dissidents of the former FARC.
Why This Matters: The escalating violence affecting 386 municipalities reveals the human cost of Colombia's unresolved armed conflict, where ordinary citizens like Gladys Marín and Eucaris Zamora face daily threats to their safety and homes. With 27,000 people still under arms and drone attacks surging from 61 incidents in 2024 to 333 in 2025, the failure to achieve lasting peace has left vulnerable communities bearing the brunt of armed group activity. The election presents a critical choice between continued dialogue and purely military approaches, with analysts warning that hard-line responses could further endanger civilians caught between armed groups and security forces. The destruction of homes, displacement of families, and atmosphere of fear surrounding even basic democratic participation underscore the urgent need for effective conflict resolution that prioritizes civilian protection and addresses the structural conditions enabling armed violence to persist.