Colombia: Government and guerrillas negotiate again

As of: 11/22/2022 7:13 a.m

Colombia and the largest remaining guerrilla group ELN are negotiating a peace treaty. International diplomats are accompanying the talks. It is the first attempt at peace talks in about four years.

After a break of around four years, the Colombian government and the guerrilla group ELN have started peace talks again. After the many deaths in the decades-long conflict, life is at the heart of the dialogue, said Colombia’s peace officer Danilo Rueda at the opening ceremony. The main task is reconciliation, said ELN delegation leader Israel Ramírez Pineda. The delegates meet in Caracas in neighboring Venezuela.

The government of Colombia and the largest remaining guerrilla organization ELN have resumed their peace talks

Tagesschau 5:30 a.m., 22.11.2022

First negotiations since attack in 2019

After taking office in August, the new left-wing President Gustavo Petro, an ex-guerrilla of the M-19 group, restarted the peace process with the “National Liberation Army” ELN. The previous government of conservative President Iván Duque broke off peace talks in 2019 after an ELN bomb attack on a police academy in Bogotá that killed 22 people.

The talks will be accompanied by diplomats from Cuba, Venezuela, Norway and Spain. The Catholic Church and the UN should also send observers.

Decades of civil war

For 52 years, Colombia suffered from a civil war between left-wing rebels, right-wing paramilitaries and the military. 220,000 people lost their lives and millions were displaced. After the 2016 peace agreement between the government and the largest rebel group, FARC, the security situation initially improved. But the ELN increased its activities in areas previously under FARC control.

Many fighters have since gone underground and joined criminal gangs. The Marxist-Leninist ELN has around 5,000 fighters.

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