News and AnalysIs for

This week Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos took to campaigning for the peace process, one of the foremost issues that will make or break his upcoming reelection bid next year.

From Catatumbo to Cartagena, coffee growers to coal miners, a recent wave of protests and now strikes have plagued President Juan Manuel Santos administration at a tender moment.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said the military will operate at its full might to find the Farc guerrillas responsible for an attack on military forces patrolling construction of the Bicentennial Pipeline, which killed 15 soldiers.

The count dropped again to 22 below recent and long-term averages. This was an above average week for non-armed forces reported/guerrilla-initiated incidents. Our 4-week Moving Average incident count was down to 22.8 incidents (down for the ninth straight week) but the 52 week average was essentially stable at 38.8 incidents per week.

Call it a lull or a deadlock, this week brought words of advice from consultants, former presidents and the Farc, as the recess between peace roundtable talks in Havana continue. Where it all is going, still remains to be seen.

Representatives of companies that operate in Casanare and Arauca met with armed forces and police officials to discuss actions following incidents that affected public order and the Caño Limon pipeline.

For the third week in a row counts were identical at 23 below recent and long-term averages. This was an average week for non-armed forces reported/guerrilla-initiated incidents. Our 4-week Moving Average incident count was down to 24.5 incidents (down for the eighth straight week) but the 52 week average was essentially stable at 39.0 incidents per week.

This week saw the close of another round of talks in Habana, but the news surrounding the peace process came from Colombia again as accusations that the Farc are orchestrating social unrest in Colombia took center stage. Meanwhile the political spectrum positions for an upcoming election and reacts to the ongoing peace dialogue.

Intercepted communication between organizers of the Farc and the clandestine Communist Party suggests that the guerrilla faction could be involved in the planning of a general strike starting July 20.

Unusually, counts were identical to last week at 23 below recent and long-term averages. This was an average week for non-armed forces reported/guerrilla-initiated incidents. Our 4-week Moving Average incident count was down to 26.5 incidents (down for the seventh straight week) but the 52 week average was stable at 39.2 incidents per week.