Colombia’s Peace Tribunal Faces Mounting Pressure as Sentencing Delays Fuel Doubts

Colombia’s ambitious experiment in transitional justice—the Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (JEP)—was designed to bring accountability for decades of brutal conflict. Yet, seven years after its launch, this tribunal still struggles to deliver meaningful verdicts on some of the gravest offenses committed by guerrillas and state forces alike.Magistrate Alejandro Ramelli, who took the helm in late 2024, optimistically predicts an “impressive” number of sentences by 2026 across eleven sprawling macro-cases ranging from forced recruitment of children to ‘false positive’ killings by the military. However, this optimism raises a crucial question: How long can Colombia—and by extension, international supporters—afford patience when...