Colombian President Lifts Gun Carry Ban, Reversing 2015 Restriction

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella signed an order on Tuesday ending regulations that prohibited law-abiding citizens from carrying legally-owned firearms.

This decree reversed a ban set in place in 2015 by then-Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and renewed annually by his successors, Iván Duque and Gustavo Petro. De la Espriella stated on social media, "For years, law-abiding citizens were restricted while criminals continued to arm themselves illegally to the teeth. That has to change." The decree was signed while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was visiting Colombia.

De la Espriella, a dual citizen of Colombia and the United States, narrowly defeated left-wing opponent Ivan Cepeda in the June 21 election. He campaigned on cracking down on the country’s drug cartels and guerrillas after President Donald Trump endorsed him on June 2. Civilian ownership is an exception, not a right, under Colombian law, which distinguishes between keeping a registered gun at a declared home or business and carrying it in public.

The two leaders met in Barranquilla, where De la Espriella lives, as part of Rubio’s tour through allied countries in the Andean region. They hailed the rebirth of bilateral relations, which were severely disrupted during former President Gustavo Petro's term. Rubio stressed the need for security in the region, claiming that the same networks, the same criminal groups that, although they commit their crimes here, they also commit crimes in the U.S., and they damage their people.

De la Espriella proposed a "21st-Century Patriot Plan" to modernize military assets, seeking US support. The judge ruled the images could be harmful to minors. The Colombian embassy in the United States and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation regarding the gun law change.