The Government of Colombia announced this morning the ceasefire with five armed groups -including the National Liberation Army (ELN)- for the next six months while they hold peace negotiations.
Before Gustavo Petro came to power, one of the strongest promises of his candidacy was the resumption of dialogue with the country’s guerrilla groups. With his assumption, the president complied with this point quickly, and before December he achieved a partial ceasefire.
On the first day of the year, Petro communicated the agreement signed with the armed groups, “We have agreed to a bilateral cessation with the ELN, the Segunda Marquetalia, the Central General Staff, the AGC (Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia) and the Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada from January 1 to June 30, 2023, extendable depending on the progress in the negotiations,” he said.
Likewise, the president explained that “it is my wish at the end of the year that peace be possible.” Thus, both the government and the guerrilla groups pledged to suspend offensive actions and avoid armed incidents, with the aim of reducing the “humanitarian impact” that has an impact on the country’s civilian population.
Talks with the ELN were completely cut off during the previous administration of Ivan Duque, after an attack by the guerrilla group that left 22 dead. But with the assumption of the new president, the dialogue was resumed in mid-September.
For their part, the Segunda Marquetalia group and the Central General Staff departed from the peace agreement signed by the FARC in 2016. Recently, both groups held talks with Petro delegates.
