Gustavo Petro Announces Peace Talks with the ELN Guerrilla
The Government of President Gustavo Petro Announced the Start of Peace Talks with the Largest Guerrilla Group still Operating in Colombia.
Photo: Vanguard
LatinAmerican Post | Santiago Gómez Hernández
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Leer en español: Última Hora: Gustavo Petro anuncia diálogos de paz con la guerrilla del ELN
In a message on his official Twitter, Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, announced the resumption of peace talks between the Government and the ELN guerrilla. In the message, the president reported that it was agreed:
- Reinstall the Table of Conversations with their respective Delegations.
- Take up all the agreements and progress made since the signing of the Agenda on March 30, 2016.
- Announce the reestablishment of the dialogue process after the first week of November 2022.
In the statement, it is explained that "the participation of society in this process is essential in the changes that Colombia needs to build peace."
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The Colombian government and the ELN had broken off talks during the mandate of Iván Duque, after the attack on the General Santander Police School in Bogotá, which left 21 dead and 68 injured in January 2019. After the event, Duque desisted from continuing talking or opening new dialogues when not finding a will for peace in the armed group. However, Gustavo Petro announced during the campaign his intentions to resume talks.
These new formal dialogues occur thanks to the participation of Cuba, Norway and Venezuela as guarantor countries. Additionally, thanks to the work of the United Nations and the Catholic Church, as the statement explained.
