They laid down arms. Now ex-guerrillas in Colombia fear fate under new hardline president

In mid-June, 99 guerrilla fighters were flown by helicopter to a small settlement in a rural area of southern Colombia where they lined up and, one by one, handed their weapons to government officials: rifles, pistols, machine guns and grenade launchers. They also stripped off their heavy tactical vests, field packs and camouflage uniforms, which were each piled into a bonfire to mark the beginning of a new life away from an armed conflict that has claimed nearly half a million lives in the last six decades. That was precisely what the former president Gustavo Petro’s “total peace” plan had sought to achieve: negotiating with and disarming all of Colombia’s criminal groups, which are estimated to have nearly 30,000 members.

But the group of just 99 people was the only one to disarm, and did so just three days before the presidential runoff, which was won by the far-right millionaire lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, who had campaigned on a promise to end “total peace” and return to a full-on strategy of jailing or killing criminals. Now, several weeks after the new president took office – and amid efforts to deal with the aftermath of the 7.4-magnitude earthquake, as his government has already begun the promised airstrikes against criminal groups – the 99 do not know what will happen to them. The former guerrillas are housed in beige brick buildings decorated with drawings they painted themselves, including doves of peace, with a communal dining hall where three meals a day are served.

No weapons are allowed inside and soldiers guard the ZUT from a perimeter less than a mile away. One former combatant built a makeshift gym with weights made from metal pipes and tins filled with cement and sand, and there is an improvised football pitch, but most of them spend their days on their phones. De la Espriella has repeatedly said his government will no longer negotiate peace agreements and has yet to announce what he intends to do regarding the people at the ZUT.

The president has not responded to requests for comment. In theory, any arrest warrants against the group are suspended, and they remain under state protection until 25 December, when Petro’s decree establishing the ZUT expires. But De la Espriella could revoke the decree at any time.

Armando Novoa, the former government official who led peace negotiations with the group, said “the worst-case scenario would be for the new government to close the ZUT, launch a military operation and try to capture or kill them. That would be a crime against humanity, because these people are unarmed.” Between 2 and 4 August, days before De la Espriella’s inauguration, Novoa led journalists including the Guardian through the ZUT. The Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, where he worked, has since been absorbed into the newly created National Security Commission – a move expected to result in more than 200 job losses – and Novoa has resigned.

For now, at least, the ZUT remains in operation and has a small library run by Bríñez, who has a phoenix tattoo on her left shoulder as a symbol of her rebirth away from the armed conflict. They were also supposed to receive financial support of about £425 a month, which had not yet been paid. In the meantime, some of them were planning to start a chicken-rearing business.