The National Liberation Army (ELN), a left-wing guerrilla group, and Colombia’s new left-wing administration have decided to pick up their peace negotiations.
A formal date for the restart of formal negotiations would be announced in November, according to a joint statement released after meetings on Tuesday in Caracas.
The National Liberation Army’s “First Commander,” Elisir Herlinto Chamorro, also known as Antonio Garcia, and its top negotiator, Israel Ramirez Pineda, also known as Pablo Beltran, signed a statement naming Cuba, Norway, and Venezuela as guarantor nations.
Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the UN, praised the accord.
The UN Secretary-spokesperson, General’s Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement that Guterres “hopes that Colombians will be able to prove once again that even the most entrenched problems can be resolved through dialogue.”
After the ELN carried out a terrorist attack on a police academy in the country’s capital, Bogota, which left 22 people dead, the former government of Colombia, led by the country’s conservative President Ivan Duque, halted peace negotiations with them in January 2019.
After taking office in August, former guerrilla fighter and current president of Colombia Gustavo Petro restarted the peace negotiations.
Military struggle between the armed forces, leftist guerrilla groups, and right-wing paramilitaries has plagued Colombia for more than 50 years.
Government of Colombia and the ELN concur to pick up the peace talks.
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