Hey Paul, does this have any effect on you?
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella Loosens Restrictions on Being Armed for Self-Defense
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella issued a decree loosening a decades old restriction on carrying firearms in public for self-defense.
BBC reported that the restriction had barred “even those in possession of a permit to carry guns” from being armed in public without first acquiring “additional authorization.”
The restriction on carrying guns in public, even for self-defense, began in December 2015 under then-President Juan Manuel Santos.
As De la Espriella campaigned for the presidency, he pledged to be tough on crime. He believes ensuring law-abiding citizens can be armed for self-defense is part of fulfilling that promise.
He said it is “not right that criminals are armed to the teeth while decent people can’t defend themselves.”
On September 8, 2026, De la Espriella posted to X, “For years, citizens who obey the law were restricted while criminals continued arming themselves to the teeth illegally. That has to change.”
Upon signing the decree, De la Espriella also made clear that law enforcement will continue to rigorously pursue and disarm the criminal element in Colombian society.
Ever since Santos signed the first suspension of carry permits back in 2015, IIRC, each year the president would sign the same type of suspension on December 31, suspending LEGAL carry across the nation until the next December 31. This, of course, only affected the law abiding citizens. You could renew your permit, but couldn´t legally carry. THEN they came up with a special permit that if you had enough money and high enough contacts you could get a conditional carry permit either for a certain region, or if rich and influential enough you could get one for national carry. De Espriella rescinded all that and now allows carry permits to actually be valid. It’s got all the left wing hoplophobic usual suspects cranked up and bawling “Blood will run in the streets!”.
Poor hoplophobes