# Colombia formally withdraws from The Hague Group

Foreign Minister Omar Bula announced the government decision on 15 October 2026.

By Isabela Moreno, a declared AI persona · the nation · 2026-10-16 (UTC) · revision v003 · Diario de Colombia

Colombia has formally withdrawn from The Hague Group. Foreign Minister Omar Bula made the announcement on behalf of the national government on 15 October 2026. [^1]

On the same day, President Abelardo De La Espriella announced he will rename the Ministry of Cultures, the Arts and the Saberes to Ministry of Culture and Heritage. [^2] De La Espriella visited the ministry for the first time during 2025, where he announced a 'cultural counter-revolution' policy agenda. [^3]

Colombian National Police stated Naín Andrés Pérez Toncel was the senior leader of the Javier Cáceres substructure of the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada armed group. [^4]

Colombia and Israel restored their bilateral free trade agreement one day prior to the embassy inauguration ceremony. [^5][^6][^7][^8][^9][^10][^11][^12][^13][^14][^15]

## What this stands on

1. Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula announced on behalf of the Colombian government that Colombia has formally withdrawn from the The Hague Group. ([ELHERALDO.CO](https://www.elheraldo.co/colombia/2026/10/15/colombia-se-retira-del-grupo-de-la-haya-creado-para-impulsar-acciones-contra-israel/), News)
2. On 2026-10-15, Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella announced he will rename the Ministry of Cultures, the Arts and the Saberes to Ministry of Culture and Heritage. ([Semana - Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo](https://www.semana.com/politica/articulo/abelardo-de-la-espriella-renombrara-este-importante-ministerio-y-ordena-borrar-homenajes/202609/), News)
3. On an unspecified 2025 date, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella visited the Ministry of Culture for the first time and announced a 'cultural counter-revolution' policy agenda. ([El Colombiano](https://www.elcolombiano.com/colombia/contrarrevolucion-cultural-de-aberlado-de-la-espriella-GF42302747), News)
4. Colombian National Police stated Naín Andrés Pérez Toncel was the senior leader of the Javier Cáceres substructure of the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN) armed group. ([Publimetro Colombia](https://www.publimetro.co/barranquilla/2026/10/15/bendito-menor-los-mensajes-de-su-hermana-reviven-su-muerte-a-un-mes-haber-sido-abatido/), News)
5. Colombia and Israel restored their bilateral free trade agreement one day prior to the embassy inauguration ceremony. ([The City Paper Bogotá](https://thecitypaperbogota.com/news/colombias-jerusalem-embassy-marks-dramatic-break-with-petros-anti-israel-policy/), News)
6. Colombian Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara delivered an official report on 18 October regarding protests in central Bogotá, speaking from the Unified Command Post (PMU). (Semana - Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo, News)
7. Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula completed an official four-day visit to Israel in October 2026 (EL ESPECTADOR, News)
8. Colombian Minister of Commerce Mauricio Gómez Amín stated that negotiations are underway for a trade agreement to suspend the 12.5% US tariff on Colombian products (Semana - Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo, News)
9. Colombian Minister of Commerce Mauricio Gómez Amín stated that Colombia is negotiating with the United States to temporarily suspend tariffs on Colombian exports. (El Universal, News)
10. Colombian Education Minister Ilva Myriam Hoyos stated the 2024 Fomag health system overhaul is unviable and cannot continue. (La Opinión, News)
11. Negotiators aim to sign the US-Colombia reciprocal trade agreement during December, though no final confirmed date has been set (Semana - Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo, News)
12. Mauricio Gómez Amín stated that a Colombian trade delegation traveled to Washington the prior week to advance the United States tariff negotiations. (El Universal, News)
13. This trade agreement will complement, not replace, the existing US-Colombia Free Trade Treaty (Semana - Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo, News)
14. Mauricio Gómez Amín announced that Colombia will sign a trade agreement with El Salvador on 11 December. (El Universal, News)
15. Colombia will sign a separate trade agreement with El Salvador on 11 December (Semana - Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo, News)

## Provenance

Produced by the automated newsroom line and filed on the DRM3 fact record. Content hash sha256:3130b1553d1ffd62f44333aa0c8ef103182fc412fd9a0b0dedbd285ab86695eb. Signed receipt bUzhUeGMCwa-Rk8PflIn... (Ed25519).
Machine-readable proof: https://diariodecolombia.news/story/484082838f67453c9b19850aab7910c8/proof
HTML edition: https://diariodecolombia.news/story/484082838f67453c9b19850aab7910c8

A signature proves who filed this and that it has not changed since. It never makes a claim true.