Colombia and ELN Guerrillas Resume Peace Talks

Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas have resumed peace talks in Caracas, Venezuela. After the last crisis experienced at the beginning of this month, and the “freezing” of the dialogue table, last Saturday, April 13, the two peace delegations returned to the table to begin an “extraordinary round” of talks.

Reportedly, this phase of the dialogue will be extended until April 22, after the seventh cycle, which was scheduled to begin on April 8, was postponed. The two parties held talks on Friday in Caracas with representatives of the guarantor and accompanying countries of the peace negotiations, the armed group’s press team told EFE news agency at the time.

“Work continues”

In a brief comment on the social network X, the peace delegation of the Colombian government announced that it “continues its work”. In this way, the last stumbling block that arose with the “freezing” of the dialogues announced by the guerrilla seems to have been overcome.

This organization had requested an extraordinary meeting, last Friday, in which representatives of the guarantor and accompanying countries of the peace negotiations participated. The ELN had denounced the “critical state” of the peace table with the Government, after questioning some aspects, such as the regional dialogues that are being carried out in Nariño and that were not agreed, upon in a consensual manner, at the peace table.

In the extraordinary meeting, as explained by the government delegation, agenda items such as participation, cease-fire, and territorial transformations were addressed, as well as substantive decisions on the future of the process.

Petro defends the inclusion of regional groups in Colombia

For his part, President Gustavo Petro said that it is necessary to include the regional groups that are part of the ELN in the discussions to achieve peace with the rebel group.

“Without detriment to the regional dialogue to build peace in Nariño that has already begun, my government maintains as a scenario for peace talks with the ELN the national table ( that has been) established. This table must have members from the different regional fronts of the ELN to move from dialogue to definitive negotiation”, wrote the Colombian president in his X account.

The negotiations, which resumed in November 2022 after a four-year freeze, have gone through several ups and downs, but both sides maintain a ceasefire that runs until August 3. It should be recalled that in January 2019, the government of President Ivan Duque suspended the dialogues that he had inherited from his predecessor, Juan Manuel Santos, following the attack against the police school in Bogota, a criminal act that caused 23 deaths and more than 80 wounded.

Regional social participation in Colombia

Meanwhile, last weekend, Bucaramanga was the center of the regional peace debates organized by the National Participation Committee. Nearly 200 people from the departments of Santander, Norte de Santander, and Cesar gathered at the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS) to participate in the working groups.

These groups focused on promoting environmental care by offering sustainable economic development alternatives for local communities. During the two-day event, the participants were divided into different groups where they addressed various topics, intending to provide solutions and proposals regarding the humanitarian emergency affecting several municipalities in the region.

The regional roundtables are part of what has been agreed upon in the six cycles of peace talks with the ELN. The objective is to encourage the participation of civil society in the peace talks. The National Participation Committee, the body in charge of organizing these events, was created to carry them out.

Among the most outstanding conclusions of last weekend’s event in Bucaramanga, the peace delegations highlighted “security guarantees, sustainable economic alternatives, and continued participation for peace in the communities.”