Colombia’s President Has No Honeymoon: Mac Margolis

Grace periods are brief in Colombian politics. The same week that then-President Juan Manuel Santos bagged the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the world’s longest shooting war, Colombians rejected his peace plan. The plan survived, but the funk over its failings helped to elect conservative Ivan Duque, who is unlikely to catch a break.

The economy is weak, corruption runs deep and although Colombia may no longer be a country at war, it is hardly at peace. As Duque was sworn in Tuesday, guerrilla holdout groups staged four separate attacks in the countryside -- a sharp reminder that cocaine ...