Deadly drug violence surges in Colombia

Colombia’s government reissued arrest warrants for the leaders of the National Liberation Army, a paramilitary group with which Bogotá was in talks to end the country’s decades-long internal war.

Recent attacks by the rebels have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands after years of falling murder rates.

In response, President Gustavo Petro, himself a former guerrilla fighter, has declared war against the group, prompting the UN Security Council to summon Colombia’s foreign minister. “Beyond being useless, the declaration shows that the president has lost his grip on the country,” an expert wrote in Colombian daily El Tiempo.