ELN warns peace talks with Colombian Goverment in “crisis”

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Colombia's Peace Commissioner Danilo Rueda shakes hands with the ELN's Pablo Beltran in Caracas./Presidencia
Colombia's Peace Commissioner Danilo Rueda shakes hands with the ELN's Pablo Beltran in Caracas./Presidencia

The National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla is on the verge of walking away from the peace talks in Havana, Cuba, after releasing a statement in which the guerrilla’s Central Command warns of a “crisis” over recent declarations by President Gustavo Petro. The 3,700-strong Marxist organization states that “peace talks cannot be subject to fluctuations of the president” and called for “clarity from the Government to clear the path of peace.”

President Petro affirmed on Friday after a meeting with the Generals of the Colombian Armed Forces that the ELN has ties to illicit activities, and that the guerrilla has “changed from being an insurgency of the past to now fighting for territorial control of illegal economies.”

This declaration threatens to turn the President’s “Total Peace” policy into a hollow peace should the ELN abandon the talks. The ELN was quick to refute Petro’s affirmation, stating that they practice “demarcation” with the drug trafficking chain, and that Petro cannot disrespect their role as an armed group. Petro has “publicly questioned our delegation, our representatives, and therefore the Government must publicly clarify if it is a valid intermediary to advance the peace process,” reads the ELN statement. Over the weekend, the ELN’s senior commander Antonio García referred to the President’s remarks as “delicate” and on Monday, the ELN’s Chief negotiator, Pablo Beltrán, confirmed that the talks have been “paused.”

After ELN released their statement, President Petro stated on Twitter that the guerrilla should “seal a ceasefire to reaffirm their political status”. The post was eliminated from the social media platform, to be replaced by an official response from the government. “The Presidency has ratified the political character of these peace talks with the ELN, the organization’s political status, and legitimacy of the agreements that have been reached so far.”