The Colombian guerrilla of the ELN (National Liberation Army) announced on Wednesday February 21 the freezing of peace talks and an "open crisis" with the government, denouncing "violations" of the rules agreed during the launch in 2022 of these negotiations which take place in Cuba.
“Without our responsibility, discussions between the ELN and the national government are entering a freezing phase, until the government is willing to respect its commitments,” the Guevarist guerrillas said in a statement.
Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president in Colombia's history, has begun talks with the main armed groups operating in the country. With the ELN, but also dissidents from the Marxist guerrilla Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) who reject the historic peace agreement signed in 2016, as well as with paramilitary groups and drug traffickers.
Several rounds of negotiations have already taken place in Venezuela, Mexico and Cuba, which act as guarantors with the governments of Brazil, Chile and Norway. Added to these countries are Germany, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, which are accompanying the talks, as well as a representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations.
Present in the west on the Pacific coast and in the northeast bordering Venezuela, the ELN, whose numbers are estimated at 5,800 fighters, has challenged the Colombian state since its birth in 1964 in the wake of the Cuban revolution. .
With AFP
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