Columbia 2025

Our legal delegation of U.S. lawyers, judges, and guest traveled to Colombia September 17-28, 2025. We went as legal ambassadors whose primary professional objective was to interact with our counterparts, learn about the rule of law in Colombia, exchange ideas and be witness to the reconciliation process as a result of the Peace Treaty in 2016. The Government and Farc-EP had been fighting for 50 years. The Treaty provided disbarment and reintegration. The agreement created for a Truth Commission and a transitional justice model to allow for lower sentences for Farc members in exchange for confessing war crimes and providing reparations for victims. What we learned was that the population had been terrorized, and a large segment of the population continues to suffer from PTSD. The fighting has stopped, and that is very significant. 

Our delegation felt as if we were witnessing history right before our eyes during our visit. We had arrived in Colombia during a week of historic diplomatic whiplash. The decades-old U.S. - Colombia alliance had been the strongest strategic partnership in the region and was unraveling in real time. With the U.S. decertifying Colombia's drug war efforts, sanctioning Colombia's own president, placing President Gustvo Petro, his family, and the Interior Minister on the sanctions list. Essentially, the U.S. blacklisted the sitting President of one its closest historical ally in South America. The U.S. Also conducted unilateral military strikes on vessels in neighboring waters . The legal community of Bogata was consumed by questions of sovereignty, the limits of foreign military intervention, and the future of bilateral cooperation. Additionally, we witnessed a country that was in the process of being transformed from a country gripped by violence and death by paramilitary, guerrilla groups, and FARC into a more normal country. 

The situation was so tense, that when we met with the head and leaders of the University Esternado on one of our first days, the first thing they did was to Zoom in the Colombian Ambassador to the United States from Washington D.C. He spoke to us for about 30 minutes about the special relationship Colombia had with the U.S. throughout the years and how disappointed he was with our government. We acknowledged his frustrations, but we could not do anything about it. We wanted to meet with this particular University as it played a critical role in the peace process in Colombia and is known for its prestigious Law Faculty. 

The rest of the professional and cultural visits to Bogota, Medelin, and Cartagena were also eventful and memorable. Some of the more memorable visits were to the U.S. Embassy, meeting with conflict victims at casa de la Memoria Museum and our visit to Cartagena. We found Colombia to be a dynamic country that is struggling to achieve normalcy. The people of Colombis were very hospitable and warm.  They were polite and genuinely kind towards us. They have suffered a great deal but persist.