President Abelardo De La Espriella announced this Friday, September 11, that he has ended the participation of the National Government in the dialogue processes, socio-legal spaces, and location mechanisms inherited from the previous administration which, according to him, did not show concrete progress in terms of peace, disarmament, or submission to justice.
He also revealed that in his predecessor’s failed flagship program, more than 7 billion pesos were spent on hiring mediators – all close to the leftist project – and on flights and per diems that even included destinations such as Qatar.
Per diems and false peace
“Here, some of those negotiators whom I am revoking today, such as Dr. Parmenio Cuéllar Bastidas, Álvaro Jiménez Millán, Feliciano Valencia, and Gloria Quiceno, were paid 7 billion pesos for helping a false peace,” the president stated, adding that his government continues to find evidence of wastefulness.
The Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO investigated and established that security scheme costs must also be added to that amount, and that in at least two cases, mediator duties extended until December 2026.
Through Dapre and the payments
In the case of Parmenio Cuéllar, former senator and former governor of Nariño, he was contracted through the Administrative Department of the Presidency (Dapre). According to documents in this newspaper’s possession, his duties ran from August 9, 2024, to December 31, 2026.
The contract’s purpose is as follows: “He commits to provide his services to the entity to carry out the activities corresponding to him as a member of the negotiating team, authorized representative of the National Government to participate in the development of the Peace Dialogue Table with the armed group organized outside the law self-called ‘Second Marquetalia’, by virtue of the presidential designation and according to the instructions that, verbally, in writing or mediated by the Peace Commissioner Counselor, the President gives him”.
And the amount is 474 million pesos.
Those on the list
Government officials De La Espriella, note that this was one of the tables that advanced the least after the assassination of presidential pre-candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay.
Although the Prosecutor’s Office has already pointed to that criminal organization as responsible, at the time the peace commissioner of Gustavo Petro, and former M-19 member, Otty Patiño, said that group was weakened and that its leader, ‘Iván Márquez’, was in poor health after the attack he suffered in Venezuela.
The Quiceno and Valencia cases
Gloria Quiceno was also contracted through Dapre. The Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO established that the purpose of her contract states: “She commits to provide the entity, by her own means with full technical and administrative autonomy, her specialized professional services to carry out the activities corresponding to her as Head of the government delegation in the peace process underway with the General Staff of the Magdalena Medio Blocks Commander Gentil Duarte, Commander Jorge Suarez Briceño, and Raúl Reyes Front FARC-EP (EMBF), by virtue of the presidential designation and according to the instructions that, verbally or in writing, the President of the Republic gives her through the Peace Commissioner Counselor”.
Those subversive blocks are the dissidence of alias Calarcá, which the Petro government tried to maintain until the last moment despite scandals and attacks on the Public Force.
Quiceno was assigned an income of 341 million 600 thousand pesos to be earned between November 11, 2025, and December 31, 2026.
The fees
Another of the mentioned by President De La Espriella is Feliciano Valencia Medina, who was also contracted through Dapre to carry out his good offices.
The former senator received 117 million pesos from August 28, 2025, to February 28, 2026, to: “Carry out activities as the authorized representative of the National Government at the peace dialogue table with the General Staff of the Commander Jorge Suárez Briceño blocks, Magdalena Medio Commander Gentil Duarte, and Raúl Reyes Front Commander of the Farc-EP, by virtue of the presidential designation and according to the instructions that, verbally or in writing, the President of the Republic or through the Peace Commissioner Counselor gives him”.
Including a trip to Qatar
The last on the list is Álvaro Jiménez, a personal friend of Otty Patiño. He himself admitted to EL TIEMPO on November 23, 2024, that he is an advisor to the commissioner on peace processes. Also, that he was hired by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support the Government.
(Check here all the articles from the Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO)
At that time, EL TIEMPO found two contracts with the Special Programs Fund for Peace (Fondo-Paz): one for 76 million pesos and another for 55 million pesos, both from 2023.
They were to “support, assist, and provide technical guidance to the dialogue table with the ELN and the high commissioner on demining and humanitarian action issues”.
Álvaro Jiménez confirmed that delegates from the Government and the Gaitanista Army of Colombia (EGC) or Gulf Clan had met several times in Doha (Qatar) for exploratory contacts and peace talks.
INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
u.investigativa@eltiempo.com
@UinvestigativaET
Follow us now on Facebook
Read more Attention: Putumayo Court temporarily suspends police aerial spraying pilot plan with glufosinate