Controversy surrounding Colombia's JEP

Political tension has emerged in Colombia regarding the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) following the release of video footage from judicial hearings involving former FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño, known as ‘Timochenko’.

Senator María Clara Posada criticized the tribunal, using clips from a 2019 hearing to argue that the JEP provides a platform for former guerrillas to defend their actions rather than delivering justice. The controversy intensified as social media circulation of these clips led to allegations of complicity between the tribunal and former combatants.

In response, the Colombian Ombudsman's Office rejected these claims, characterizing them as a ‘disinformation and smear campaign’ against JEP magistrate Julieta Lemaitre Ripoll. The Ombudsman's Office specifically criticized Senators Posada and Germán Rodríguez for spreading decontextualized content and using gender stereotypes to attack the magistrate. To defend the tribunal's integrity, the office noted that Lemaitre’s chambers have issued nine indictments against 74 former FARC-EP commanders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Following these accusations, Ombudsman Iris Marín Ortiz requested a formal rectification from Senator Posada. However, Posada has rejected the request, defending her actions as an exercise of ‘constitutional political control and freedom of expression’. She argued that the Ombudsman's intervention attempts to limit her oversight functions and stated she will continue investigating the JEP's procedures, expenditures, and treatment of actors involved in the peace process.