Colombia to declare state of emergency amid escalating violence

Colombian president Gustavo Petro said on Monday that he will declare a state of emergency, following a spate of guerrilla attacks in the country’s northeast that has killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee their homes, Report informs via AP.

In a message on X Petro said that he will “declare a state of internal commotion,” a measure that enables the executive branch to pass certain kinds of legislation without congressional approval for three months. The measure will go into effect after a decree is signed by the President and his Cabinet, but it can also be invalidated by Colombia’s constitutonal court.

Internal commotion decrees were used in the early 2000s by the administration of then-President Álvaro Uribe to increase financing for the military through a special war tax. According to Colombia’s constitution, this emergency measure cannot be used to suspend congress or eliminate civil rights. “I hope the judicial system supports us,” Petro wrote on X.