Colombian President Faces Legal Action and Backlash Over Security Videos

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has drawn legal challenges and official criticism following the publication of government security videos showing him standing beside body bags and bound detainees. A Bogota tribunal ordered the temporary removal of the media from official channels on September 8 following a legal complaint filed by Parliamentary Deputy Santiago Osorio Marin.

Since taking office in early August 2026, De la Espriella has released multiple promotional videos recorded after military operations against armed groups, including dissident factions of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the Conquering Self-Defence Forces of the Sierra Nevada (ACSN). On September 2, the administration posted footage featuring 23 body bags following an operation against FARC dissidents. Subsequent posts showcased captured prisoners with bound wrists and aerial strike footage similar to material released by the United States Southern Command during Caribbean anti-narcotics operations.

The communications campaign prompted criticism from human rights organizations and state oversight bodies. Colombia’s People’s Defender, Iris Marin Ortiz, stated that state authorities should not use human remains as a backdrop for official announcements or to demonstrate authority. Juana Cabezas, a researcher at the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz), stated that displaying deceased individuals dehumanizes victims and serves to legitimise state violence.

The strategy has also renewed scrutiny regarding extrajudicial killings by security forces, historically referred to in Colombia as false positives. Special Jurisdiction for Peace records show 7,837 such killings occurred between 1990 and 2016. Following a September 21 operation in which 18-year-old Ricardo Andrés Rodríguez Martínez was killed and presented as an ACSN combatant, his family publicly stated that he was a civilian day laborer with no ties to the group. The People's Defender requested a formal investigation into his death, alongside two other reported cases involving Luis Carlos Mojica Guzmán and Yasmín Rodríguez.

In response to the allegations surrounding the September 21 operation, the Colombian Ministry of Defence stated on September 24 that it would leave the investigation to the Office of the General Prosecutor and forensic experts to establish the facts and motives of those present. Regarding the broader aerial strike footage used in official posts, human rights organization Washington Office on Latin America reported that similar operations conducted by the United States in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September 2025 resulted in over 240 deaths.

In mid-October 2026, the United Nations stated that Colombia's proposed 2027 budget prioritizes security expenditures while reducing allocations for rural development, land distribution, and combatant reintegration. Indepaz analyst Cabezas argued that military actions without broader institutional support in health and education fail to resolve the structural causes of violence. The Office of the President of Colombia did not respond to inquiries regarding the campaign.

Written by Sandy van Dongen sandy.vandongen@alpineweekly.com