BOGOTA.- The Colombian government announced this Sunday that it extended the truce with the FARC dissident group, known as the Central General Staff (EMC), until July 15. This extension occurs in the context of peace talks that seek to demobilize around 3,500 terrorists.
Negotiations between the EMC, which rejected the historic 2016 agreement, and representatives of President Gustavo Petro began in October, when they agreed to an initial three-month truce. The decision to extend the ceasefire was formalized by a government decree, establishing its validity from January 16, 2024 to July 15, 2024.
Bogotá is the scene of the third cycle of talks, marked by some ups and downs. One of the significant advances was the rebels’ commitment to renounce kidnapping for ransom. However, in November, the dissidents left the dialogue table alleging violations by the army of the suspension of operations in their areas of influence.
Petro is committed to resolving the six-decade armed conflict through “dialogue” with rebel groups and armed organizations linked to drug trafficking. Despite the signing of the peace agreement that transformed most of the FARC into a political party, Colombia continues to face a prolonged internal war with more than 9.5 million victims, most of them displaced.
Although the EMC is the largest and most organized dissident, it is not the only one; The president has also been in talks since November with the National Liberation Army (ELN), another Guevarist-inspired guerrilla group. Both negotiations represent the ambitious “Total Peace” initiative, one of Petro’s main proposals since he took office in August 2022.
Source: With information from AFP
