Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Colombian government on steps to tackle paramilitary groups in the Nariño region of the country.

Mr Hugo Swire

I am concerned about the continued negative influence of organised criminal gangs and resulting violence in Colombia, which challenges the implementation of the peace process. I am pleased to see that the Colombian Minister of Defence announced that tackling organised crime is a top priority for the Government of Colombia in 2016.

British Embassy officials in Bogota regularly discuss the challenges posed by armed criminal groups (so called ‘Bandas Criminales’ or BACRIM) in their meetings with the Colombian government. Our Ambassador to Colombia met the Minister of Interior on 1 February when they discussed security challenges, including those posed by the BACRIM. In forthcoming meetings with the Minister of Defence and Minister of Post-Conflict, the Ambassador will seek to raise these issues again. We are also contributing £1m to the MAPP-OAS (the Organisation of American States’ Peace mission) which is monitoring demobilisation.

On 1 February, President Santos created a committee to tackle organised criminal groups. He has ordered the military to intensify operations to prevent criminal groups stepping into a vacuum created by demobilising FARC units. He also stated that new ‘special forces’ will be created, including joint operations and intelligence. This new strategy will be accompanied by social programmes and aims to benefit communities in Colombia.