Colombia ICC Withdrawal: Reports Say Bogotá May Quit the War Crimes Court
Colombia · Politics
Key Facts
- —The report Caracol Radio said on 18 August 2026 that sources in The Hague expect Colombia to leave the ICC.
- —The status no bill has been filed in Congress, and no notice has reached the UN Secretary-General.
- —The rule Article 127 requires written notice to the UN chief, and the exit takes effect one year later.
- —The history the ICC prosecutor closed his Colombia examination on 28 October 2021, citing the JEP peace court.
- —The company Venezuela filed its exit on 24 July 2026, while Hungary reversed course and stayed in May 2026.
Even a formal exit would take a full year, and Colombia would still owe help on cases already open.
Colombia ICC withdrawal talk started in The Hague, not in Bogotá. On 18 August 2026, Caracol Radio said sources at the court expect Colombia to leave the Rome Statute.
The government has not confirmed anything, and no legal step has been taken in public.
What the Colombia ICC Withdrawal Reports Actually Say
The story broke on the morning of 18 August 2026 on Caracol Radio’s 6AM W programme. Its director, Julio Sánchez Cristo, said sources inside the court treat Colombia’s departure as a done deal.
Caracol labelled the information extraoficial, meaning unofficial. Infobae Colombia picked it up the same day and stressed that nothing had been confirmed by the state.
So the sourcing runs through The Hague rather than through Bogotá. That distinction matters, because the decision would have to be taken in Colombia, not at the court.
What Has Not Happened Yet
Infobae reported that neither the Presidency nor the Foreign Ministry had published anything confirming a formal procedure. No withdrawal notice was known to have been filed.
There is also no bill in the congressional record with a number, an author and a committee. Nothing has been debated, and nothing has been voted.
In short, this is reporting about an intention. It is not a law, and it is not yet an official announcement.
Who Would Have to Decide
Abelardo de la Espriella took office as president on 7 August 2026 after a campaign built on hard-line security. His foreign minister is Ómar Bula Escobar.
In July 2026, Bula told Blu Radio that the government would run a very meticulous review of Colombia’s commitments abroad. He named the Rome Statute among them.
Yet he also said the plan was not to storm out of the international community. Instead, he framed it as a cost-benefit look at each agreement.
How a Country Actually Leaves the Court
The ICC is the world’s permanent war crimes court, based in The Hague. It tries genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression when national courts will not or cannot.
Article 127 of the Rome Statute sets the exit route. A member sends written notice to the UN Secretary-General, and the withdrawal takes effect one year after he receives it.
So there is no instant door. Even a signed decision this month would leave Colombia inside the system until late 2027.
Why Leaving Does Not Wipe the Slate
Article 127 has a second paragraph that is often skipped. It says a state is not discharged from obligations that arose while it was a member, including money owed.
It adds that withdrawal does not affect cooperation with investigations and proceedings that began before the exit date. Matters already before the court also continue.
Because of that clause, an exit is a forward-looking act. It does not close files that are already open.
How Colombia Joined in the First Place
Colombia signed the Rome Statute on 10 December 1998. Congress approved it through Law 742 of 2002, and the Constitutional Court upheld it in ruling C-578 of 30 July 2002.
The instrument was deposited on 5 August 2002, and the treaty entered into force for Colombia on 1 November 2002. Membership therefore came with a full domestic legal process.
Bogotá also used Article 124, a now-repealed clause that let new members shield war crimes for seven years. That opt-out expired on 1 November 2009.
The 2021 Decision That Closed Colombia’s File
The ICC prosecutor’s office examined Colombia for 17 years. Prosecutor Karim Khan closed that preliminary examination in Bogotá on 28 October 2021.
He signed a cooperation agreement with then-president Iván Duque and said he was satisfied that complementarity was working. That principle leaves cases to national courts when they do the job.
Khan singled out progress by domestic bodies, in particular the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. Still, his office kept the right to look again if things changed.
The relationship deepened after that. On 7 June 2023, the prosecutor and the government signed an action plan for renewed cooperation.
Why the JEP Sits at the Centre
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace, known as the JEP, was created by the 2016 peace accord. It judges the worst crimes of the armed conflict and offers reduced, restorative sanctions to those who confess.
On 16 September 2025, it issued its first sentence. Seven former members of the FARC secretariat were found responsible for hostage-taking and given eight years of restricted liberty with restorative work.
A second landmark ruling hit the army side. Twelve former members of the La Popa Battalion received sanctions of five to eight years over killings passed off as combat deaths.
Those killings are the case the JEP counted at 6,402 victims between 2002 and 2008. Because the ICC closed its file on the strength of this court, the JEP’s health is the hinge of the whole argument.
Colombian media have reported that De la Espriella wants to dismantle the JEP. Legal scholars quoted in that coverage note the tribunal has constitutional protection.
The Washington Pressure Campaign
There is a second thread running alongside the reports. On 12 August 2026, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke in Panama City.
He announced that Colombia had joined the American-led Americas Counter Cartel Coalition as its 19th member. At the coalition forum on 13 August, Hegseth urged members to quit the court.
He said he strongly encouraged every A3C member to leave the ICC and reject attempts to rob their governments of sovereignty. Washington’s fight with the court predates Colombia’s new government.
It hardened after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and probed conduct in Afghanistan. De la Espriella has already turned Colombian foreign policy toward Washington and Israel.
His government pulled Colombia’s support from South Africa‘s genocide case against Israel. That case sits at a different court, the International Court of Justice.
The ICC and the ICJ Are Not the Same Court
Both sit in The Hague, so the names blur easily. The International Court of Justice settles disputes between states and cannot jail anyone.
The International Criminal Court prosecutes individuals. A president, a general or a commander can face charges there, while the state itself is not on trial.
For that reason, dropping out of an ICJ case says nothing about ICC membership. They are separate decisions with separate consequences.
What Other Countries Have Done
The Rome Statute has 125 member states. Despite years of noise about exits, only two have ever completed one.
Burundi’s withdrawal took effect on 27 October 2017, and the Philippines followed on 17 March 2019. In both cases, ICC work on earlier conduct carried on.
Venezuela deposited its notice on 24 July 2026, so its exit would land on 24 July 2027. Amnesty International noted the existing investigation into crimes against humanity is unaffected.
Chad announced its own departure in late July 2026. Hungary, by contrast, notified an exit in June 2025 and then cancelled it.
It told the UN on 29 May 2026 that it was staying.
What to Watch Next
The first hard signal would be a statement from the Casa de Nariño or the Foreign Ministry. The second would be a text sent to the UN Secretary-General.
A third test is domestic. Colombia joined the treaty through an act of Congress and a court review.
So lawyers will argue about whether leaving needs the same path. Until one of those appears, the honest description is narrow.
Reporters in The Hague say a Colombia ICC withdrawal is coming, and the government has said nothing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Colombia left the International Criminal Court?
No. As of 18 August 2026 there is no confirmed decision, no bill in Congress and no notice to the UN Secretary-General. What exists is a report by Caracol Radio citing sources in The Hague, which the outlet itself called unofficial.
How long would a Colombia ICC withdrawal take?
Article 127 says withdrawal takes effect one year after the UN Secretary-General receives written notice, unless a later date is set. So Colombia would remain a member for at least a year after any notice.
Would leaving stop investigations into Colombians?
Not the ones already running. Article 127 keeps a state bound by obligations that arose during membership.
Why does the JEP matter here?
The ICC prosecutor closed his Colombia preliminary examination in 2021. He did so largely because national justice, and the JEP, was doing the work.
Connected Coverage
Sources: Caracol Radio; Infobae; International Criminal Court; UN Treaty Collection; Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz.
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