The Government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) postponed the closing of the VI round of negotiations that aim to extend the six-month truce between the public forces and the Guevarist guerrillas, which officially expired on January 29, a Cuban official reported on Monday.
First modification: Last modification:
2 min
The closing ceremony “is postponed until tomorrow, without confirmation,” said an official from the Cuban International Press Center to journalists who had been summoned on Monday morning to close this cycle that began on January 22 in Havana. .
A little earlier the ELN, the last active guerrilla in Colombia, released a statement through the social network X in which it explained that “measures are being taken to resolve crisis factors and add new elements of commitment to be fulfilled by both parties.” to be able to agree on an extension of the ceasefire.
A week ago, the parties had already agreed to extend the ceasefire between the two for another seven days to give space to negotiations aimed at extending the truce for another semester, which was signed in Havana and came into force on August 3. past.
This extension is negotiated after the ELN committed, during the fifth round of peace negotiations held in December in Mexico, to suspend the kidnappings it committed to raise funds by collecting ransoms.
Mexico's agreement managed to overcome the crisis due to the kidnapping on October 28 of the father of Colombian soccer star Luis Díaz (from the English Liverpool), who was released 12 days later.
The rotating peace negotiations with the ELN, which according to official figures has more than 5,000 active members, began in Caracas in November 2022 at the request of the Colombian president, the leftist Gustavo Petro, who launched a Total Peace plan with rebel groups. and drug trafficking organizations.
His predecessor, Iván Duque (2018-2022), had suspended talks with the ELN after a deadly attack against a police school.
Colombia is a country hit by six decades of armed conflict that leaves millions of victims: displaced, murdered, kidnapped and missing.
#Colombia #ELN #extend #negotiations #extend #truce
