conflicts
Colombia prepares talks with ELN guerrillas in Cuba
Almost a week ago, Gustavo Metro took office as President of Colombia. photo
© Fernando Vergara/AP/dpa
It was one of the promises made by newly elected President Gustavo Petro. Peace talks with the ELN are now being resumed – after decades of armed conflict.
Representatives of Colombia’s new left-wing government have announced the first steps towards resuming peace talks with the guerrilla organization ELN in Cuba. The government recognizes the legitimacy of an ELN talks delegation, said a statement by Colombian High Commissioner for Peace Iván Rueda on Friday during a joint visit with Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva to the Cuban capital.
The government will do everything to create the conditions for talks to resume. In meetings with the ELN delegation, they also announced that they would take the necessary steps.
Colombia suffered 52 years of armed conflict between armed forces, left-wing guerrilla groups and right-wing paramilitaries. The largest rebel organization, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), signed a peace treaty with the government of the South American country in 2016 – after talks in Cuba – and laid down their arms. However, thousands of so-called FARC dissidents refused and are fighting with gangs to control the drug trade. The government broke off peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) after the ELN bombed a police academy in Bogotá in 2019.
Last Sunday, Gustavo Petro became the first avowed leftist to take office as Colombian president. He announced that he would consistently implement the peace treaty with the FARC and also start talks with the other armed groups in the country.
Message from the High Commissioner for Peace