The Colombia Project: Peace, Democracy, and People-to-People Solidarity

Since the late 1990s, Global Exchange has stood in solidarity with the Colombian people. From the bloodiest years of the internal armed conflict to the historic 2016 Peace Agreement and the current shift toward social justice, our mission has remained the same: to protect human rights, ensure transparency, and amplify the voices building a nation from the ground up.

Today, Colombia stands at a crossroads. As we approach the 2026 electoral cycle, the stakes for peace and sovereignty have never been higher.

Colombia 2026: Monitoring the Electoral Cycle

Global Exchange is monitoring Colombia’s 2026 electoral cycle through data partnerships, field engagement, and democratic analysis.

We stand with the Colombian people during a decisive electoral cycle. In the face of challenges to peace and social justice, Global Exchange is activating electoral monitoring tools to help document the process, support transparency, protect human rights, and amplify the voices that are building the nation from the ground up.

In 2026, Colombia returns to the polls at a moment of profound reckoning. After years of working to support peace implementation and protect social leaders, our mission is once again deployed to document, observe, and speak out. We are not merely observers. Global Exchange is part of a broader international network committed to people-to-people solidarity. From the March legislative elections to the presidential votes in May and June, our commitment is to electoral transparency and the safety of those exercising their right to vote in the country’s most vulnerable regions.

Global Exchange, together with our partners in Colombia, is documenting and analyzing what is at stake in this election for the future of democracy, peace, and sovereignty across Latin America. The 2026 election in Colombia is not just a date at the polls, but a defining moment for the sovereignty of Latin America in the face of resurgent interventionist policies. Within the framework of what some analysts are calling the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ (an aggressive update of the Monroe Doctrine), the Colombian electoral cycle is threatened by a vision that reduces the region to a chessboard for controlling resources and security for external interests. This influence is deeply harmful, as it prioritizes resource extraction and the militarization of territory over social justice and the Colombian people’s right to self-determination. In the face of political violence and diplomatic pressure, international monitoring plays an important role in helping ensure that decisions about the future of peace and human rights in Colombia remain in the hands of the Colombian people.

Colombia’s elections matter not only for Colombians but for the broader region and international partners. The political direction that emerges from this electoral cycle will shape migration patterns, economic relationships, peace implementation, and regional security.

Why Colombia Matters: The Global Context

Colombia’s 2026 elections are not just another news story from abroad. They directly affect American lives, security, and economic interests in ways most people do not realize. Here is what is at stake.

Migration and Regional Stability: Colombia as a Critical Buffer

Here is a number that may surprise you. Colombia is currently hosting nearly 3 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants on its own soil. That is roughly the population of Chicago. These are people who fled hunger, political collapse, and violence in their neighboring country. Colombia has opened its doors while managing its own internal challenges.

This policy has had consequences far beyond Colombia’s borders.

Colombia’s willingness and capacity to absorb this population has reduced migration pressures moving north. In practical terms, millions of people who might otherwise be heading toward the United States border have instead found refuge in Colombia. The country has functioned as a regional stabilizer, absorbing the shock of Venezuela’s crisis.

But that stability is under strain. In 2025, Colombia lost approximately 70 percent of its humanitarian funding. Public services are stretched. Communities hosting migrants are feeling the pressure. If Colombia’s capacity weakens, or if the next government scales back its commitment to protection, migration pressures will not disappear. They will shift.

The International Rescue Committee recently placed Colombia on its 2026 Emergency Watchlist because of this volatility. The organization warned of the potential for a new and major economic crisis and displacement out of Venezuela, coupled with risks of escalating internal conflict. When instability rises in Venezuela, Colombia is the country absorbing the shock.

A Strategic Economic Partner

The U.S. and Colombia have one of the strongest economic relationships in the Western Hemisphere:

The United States remains Colombia’s principal trading partner, accounting for around 30 % of that country’s exports.
U.S. investment and business activity support jobs and economic linkages in both countries, making Colombia a key market for American goods and services.

This is not abstract trade policy. It is about jobs, investment, and market confidence on both sides.

Political instability in Colombia would directly affect trade flows, foreign investment, and long term economic planning. Stability strengthens commercial ties. Uncertainty weakens them. For American companies operating in agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, and services, Colombia is an important and reliable partner.

Peace and Democracy: Progress at a Crossroads

Colombia’s 2016 Peace Agreement formally ended more than five decades of armed conflict that resulted in approximately 450,000 deaths and millions of victims of displacement, forced disappearance, and systematic violence. It marked a historic turning point.

But peace is not self sustaining. It requires continuous implementation, political will, and institutional strength.

Observers note that the peace process has entered a critical stage. Gains are real but fragile. The international community, including the United States, has invested heavily in supporting democratic institutions, rural development, and transitional justice.

A return to widespread instability would not only harm Colombians. Prolonged conflict fuels migration, disrupts trade, and creates space for criminal networks that operate across borders. Instability does not remain contained within one country. A stable and democratic Colombia aligns directly with American strategic interests.

The credibility and inclusiveness of the 2026 elections will shape whether Colombia deepens peace or risks renewed fragmentation.

Security Cooperation & Shared Challenges

For decades, Colombia has been one of the United States’ closest security partners in the hemisphere, particularly in efforts to combat drug trafficking and transnational organized crime.

Colombia produces a majority of the world’s cocaine supply, and a significant portion ultimately reaches the United States. Electoral outcomes will influence how Colombia approaches counternarcotics policy in the years ahead.

The current government has emphasized a shift away from forced eradication of small farmers, focusing instead on targeting major criminal networks, promoting voluntary crop substitution, and strengthening rural development.The stated goal is to significantly reduce production through structural reform rather than solely military intervention.

Opposition leaders advocate a return to a more aggressive security centered strategy. This approach emphasizes rapid security operations, aerial eradication, and expanded international military cooperation. Similar strategies in the past have been widely criticized for their limited long term effectiveness and for the disproportionate impact they had on impoverished rural communities.

Colombian voters will ultimately decide between these competing visions. The outcome will shape how bilateral counternarcotics cooperation evolves, how resources are allocated, and which policy tools are prioritized. Those choices have direct implications for public health, law enforcement, and community safety in the United States.

Geopolitical Influence & Strategic Alignment

Colombia’s geography, economy, and political evolution make it one of the most important partners of the United States in South America. As global competition intensifies and relationships with countries such as China expand across the region, Colombia’s foreign policy direction carries broader strategic weight.

The government that emerges from the 2026 elections will help determine how Colombia engages with Washington on trade, security, regional diplomacy, and multilateral cooperation. Those decisions will shape the broader balance of influence in Latin America.

This is why Global Exchange is present on the ground, documenting, observing, and amplifying Colombian voices. When Colombians vote, the consequences extend beyond their borders.

Democracy anywhere deserves attention everywhere.

📍 What Global Exchange Is Monitoring

As Colombia prepares for legislative and presidential elections in 2026, Global Exchange is launching a sustained monitoring and analysis initiative focused on electoral integrity, civic participation, and democratic resilience.

Through partnerships with civil society organizations, data initiatives, and regional experts, we provide ongoing analysis of risks, opportunities, and democratic trends shaping Colombia’s political future.

📅 Legislative Elections: March 8, 2026

🗳 Presidential Election: May 31, 2026

🔁 Potential Runoff: June 21, 2026

Our monitoring connects data, field realities, and regional analysis.

Data Tools Supporting Democratic Prevention

Turning complex data into accessible insight.

Global Exchange supports and collaborates with initiatives that strengthen transparency and prevention through open data.

We have accompanied regional processes aimed at strengthening citizen participation and the defense of democratic spaces. Within this framework, in May 2025 we held the hemispheric gathering “Democracies Under Attack: From Crisis to Strategy” in Guatemala. The event brought together more than 140 participants from 13 countries—including activists, academics, journalists, and social organizations—to analyze a phenomenon affecting the entire region: democratic backsliding and the rise of authoritarian practices.

Over three days, we shared a diagnosis that remains highly relevant today: democracy faces multiple and simultaneous risks, including:

Political and military interference by the United States
The advance of authoritarianism
Political violence
The instrumentalization of information
Institutional fragility
The growing vulnerability of territories facing complex political and humanitarian dynamics

But from that gathering, we also learned something essential: democratic crises are not confronted with discourse alone. They are confronted with strategy. With data. With cooperation. With innovation. And it was there that one of the strongest consensus points emerged: the need to build tools that transform scattered information into real prevention capacity.

As Colombia approaches a new electoral cycle, organized and accessible information becomes essential to strengthening prevention efforts and increasing transparency throughout the process.

This initiative reflects a key principle: civil society does not only denounce risks — it builds solutions.

Featured Initiative: Datos Para Decidir

Datos Para Decidir is an open platform that transforms complex data into rigorous analysis and accessible tools to support informed decision-making around democracy, humanitarian risk, territory, and social development.

Developed with methodological rigor and designed for broad accessibility, the platform begins with Colombia while projecting a broader vision for Latin America.

By translating technical information into public insight, the platform helps:

Identify risk trends early
Strengthen civic oversight
Improve transparency
Support prevention efforts

Risk Dashboard & Electoral Analysis Application

Developed in collaboration with CESJUL and 3iS, this tool integrates territorial indicators, electoral trends, and risk factors into an accessible dashboard designed for researchers, journalists, and civil society actors.

Open data strengthens democratic accountability.

Accessible data strengthens democratic participation.

➡️ Explore the Dashboard: https://datosparadecidir.org/

Stay Informed: This Week in Colombia

Concise, evidence-based insights and timely analysis.

Stay up-to-date with our regularly updated roundup of news shaping public life.

Featured News: Exclusive reporting on electoral integrity and international influence.
The CITREP Legacy: Understanding the final chance for conflict victims to hold their reserved seats in Congress.
Voices of Resistance: Interviews with human rights advocates and candidates from the frontlines.