After the meeting in Caracas, representatives of the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army issued a statement saying the date for the start of peace talks would be announced after the first week of November. The statement added that Norway, Venezuela and Cuba would be “guarantor countries” in the talks and that the participation of civil society groups would be “essential” to the success of the peace talks. The venue for the talks has not yet been announced, although an ELN commander, Antonio Garcia, suggested that different stages of the negotiations could be held in Cuba, Norway and Venezuela. The ELN was founded in the 1960s by students, union leaders and Catholic priests inspired by the Cuban revolution. The group is believed to have around 4,000 fighters in Colombia and is also present deep inside Venezuela, where it operates illegal gold mines and drug-trafficking routes. Following a 2016 peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the ELN became the nation’s largest remaining rebel group. It has since increased its operations in territories formerly under Farc control. The group is known for organizing kidnappings for ransom and attacks on oil infrastructure and is listed as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU. Colombia’s newly elected president, Gustavo Petro, is the country’s first left-wing leader and has promised to forge peace deals with the ELN and other armed groups in Colombia. It has departed from the previous government’s strategy, which suspended talks with the ELN after the rebels refused to stop attacking military targets. In a press conference after the meeting between the two sides, Colombia’s peace commissioner Danilo Rueda said the ELN had shown changes in its behavior that allowed it to win the government’s trust. Rueda said the rebel group had recently released hostages and reduced attacks against the Colombian military. The ELN did not reveal details of what it would seek in return for surrendering its weapons. But the commander, Garcia, hinted that the group was looking for political and economic changes. “The way to seek peace is not just to think about weapons, but to attack the root causes of this conflict which are inequality and the lack of democracy,” García said. In the 2016 peace deal with the Farc, Colombia gave the rebel group 10 seats in the nation’s congress as well as the ability to form its own political party, while rebel leaders who cooperated with a transitional justice system were able to avoid punishment. imprisonment. The Colombian government also agreed to fund land acquisition programs and rural development projects as part of the peace deal.
