From Bolivia to Colombia: Is the pro-Palestine Hague Group beginning to fall apart?

Electoral shifts in Latin America are testing the cohesion of the Hague Group, a prominent international bloc launched in January 2025 by Global South governments to turn diplomatic support for the Palestinians into coordinated pressure on Israel over its aggression on Gaza.

Its founding members including South Africa, Namibia, Chile, Brazil, Senegal, Colombia, Belize, Bolivia, Honduras and Malaysia. The group called for blocking weapons transfers to Israel that could facilitate violations of international law and restricting vessels suspected of carrying military supplies for Israeli operations.

For a time, the Hague Group appeared to be gaining momentum, with Colombia and South Africa emerging as key political forces and its meetings attracting governments beyond the bloc’s original membership. But electoral changes in Latin America have begun to weaken that cohesion. 

Bolivia, a founding member and previously one of Israel’s strongest critics, reversed course after President Rodrigo Paz took office. It restored full diplomatic relations with Israel in December 2025 and formally withdrew from the Hague Group in March 2026, arguing that questions of international responsibility should be handled through established UN and legal mechanisms.

Honduras announced its withdrawal the same day, following the election of conservative President Nasry Asfura, whose government said it wanted a more sovereign, independent and balanced foreign policy. The departures of Bolivia and Honduras exposed a central vulnerability of the coalition: its strength depends heavily on the political survival of governments willing to maintain pressure on Israel. The most significant change, however, has taken place in Colombia, once one of the Hague Group’s leading members.

Colombia’s new government agreed with Israel to restore full diplomatic relations, exchange ambassadors and revive bilateral cooperation. The shift also included plans to resume Colombian coal exports, remove visa requirements and move Colombia’s embassy to Jerusalem. More significantly, Bogotá decided to withdraw from the Hague Group and end its involvement in South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Meet Abelardo De La Espriella, the new president of Colombia: “The Jewish people are God’s people… I will never hesitate to defend Israel.” pic.twitter.com/0UV3TE9bOl

— HatsOff (@HatsOffff) June 26, 2026

According to Latin American affairs specialist Ali Farhat, the group’s future has always been closely tied to the ideological direction of its member governments. As political power shifts from the left to the right in countries such as Bolivia and Colombia, he argues, the coalition risks losing both political weight and regional influence.

“The composition of the Hague Group was largely based on governments that were aligned with the left,” Farhat told MEMO. “Naturally, that changes when domestic politics change in these countries.”

For Farhat, Bolivia’s departure represents one of the most significant setbacks for the alliance.

While the Hague Group has carried greater symbolic than practical weight, he said, the participation of larger Latin American states gave the coalition a stronger political presence and helped transform solidarity with Palestine into a broader diplomatic position.

“Bolivia’s withdrawal is a major blow,” he said. “With larger countries leaving, the group becomes increasingly limited to smaller states.”

“Viva Colombia and VIVA ISRAEL” – this just happened at the presidential inauguration of Colombia’s new president. Netanyahu is coming for the entire continent. This madness must be stopped. 🇨🇴🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/sJFtoine9U

— GBX (@GBX_Global) August 8, 2026

Farhat sees Colombia as an even more consequential case because of its political and regional importance. He argues that a rightward shift in Bogotá could produce a foreign policy more closely aligned with Washington and Israel, while distancing Colombia from positions adopted under a previous left-wing administration.

Farhat believes that far-right governments in the region tend to seek closer alignment with Washington and Israel, seeing those relationships as a source of political legitimacy and international backing.

READ: Colombia to restore relations with Israel and halt embassy plans in Palestine

He described this as a recurring feature of the Latin American far right: foreign-policy decisions are often used, in his view, as “political credentials” toward the United States rather than as responses to immediate domestic priorities.

BREAKING 🇨🇴🇵🇸 States announce unprecedented measures to halt the Gaza genocide at emergency conference convened by The Hague Group in Bogotá, Colombia. pic.twitter.com/wwnARhxNsy

— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) July 16, 2025

For Farhat, the significance of the Hague Group extends beyond the Palestinian question. He views it as part of a wider attempt by Global South countries to coordinate around sovereignty, resistance to foreign intervention and opposition to what they see as unequal international power structures.

“The group was important in raising awareness, building political understanding and creating a collective position on what is happening in Gaza,” he said. But he also argues that its members saw support for Palestine as linked to their own national interests.

In Farhat’s view, governments that challenge U.S. and Israeli policies in the Middle East are also resisting a broader model of political and economic pressure that could affect Latin America. He frequently points to Venezuela as an example of how confrontation with Washington can become intertwined with questions of sanctions, natural resources and national sovereignty.

From this perspective, the Hague Group represented not simply diplomatic solidarity with Palestinians, but an effort to create what Farhat described as a shared political identity among states that view themselves as vulnerable to external pressure. 

He argues that dissatisfaction with left-wing governments can produce a sharp electoral swing toward far-right alternatives, even when those alternatives pursue foreign policies that voters may not have prioritized.

At the same time, he stressed that opposition to the left does not have to translate into support for the far right. Moderate conservative and center-right movements, he said, can provide alternatives within democratic transfers of power without radically reshaping a country’s international orientation.

For Farhat, the larger issue is whether Latin American voters connect domestic political choices with longer-term questions of sovereignty and foreign influence.

He believes that stronger political awareness is necessary if voters are to evaluate governments not only through short-term economic or partisan frustrations, but also through the consequences of their international alliances.

“The new global sumud flotilla is about to set sail.. we are going [with] over 100 boats”

Thiago Avila announcing a new flotilla to Gaza at the Peoples Congress for The Hague Group this evening pic.twitter.com/JVb2BVsasK

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 7, 2026

The departures or political realignments of larger Latin American countries could significantly weaken the Hague Group, particularly if the coalition becomes concentrated among smaller left-wing states.

But Farhat does not believe the current fracture necessarily marks the group’s end.

Its creation, he argues, was itself the product of a particular electoral cycle in Latin America. A future return of left-wing or more independently minded governments could revive the coalition or produce another diplomatic bloc with similar objectives.

For now, however, Bolivia and Colombia illustrate the Hague Group’s central vulnerability: its strength depends heavily on the political complexion of governments whose foreign policies can change dramatically from one election to the next.

“The withdrawal of major countries is undoubtedly a blow,” Farhat said. “But future political transformations could once again give this coalition strength.”

The question, therefore, may not be whether the Hague Group is disappearing altogether, but whether its pro-Palestinian alliance can survive Latin America’s increasingly volatile political cycles.

BLOG: Colombia to restore relations with Israel and halt embassy plans in Palestine

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.