Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the National Liberation Army (ELN) for an attack that killed two soldiers and wounded 27 others in the northeastern department of Arauca. The bombing, carried out with explosives launched from a dump truck against a military base in Puerto Jordán, effectively seals the fate of peace negotiations between Petro’s government and the Moaist guerrilla.
Speaking on Tuesday evening during the swearing-in of a new magistrate in the Superior Council of the Judiciary, Petro directly addressed the ELN’s actions and cast doubt on the future of peace talks. “The consequences of actions and the flow of history today bring us a dramatic event, repeated in recent years,” said Petro.
Petro’s strongly worded statement that the ELN’s attack “practically closes the peace process with blood” also recognizes the government’s failed peace effort, which aimed to bring an end to decades of internal conflict in Colombia. He went on to compare the latest attack to the ELN’s bombing of the General Santander Police Academy in Bogotá in 2019, which killed 23 cadets and injured over 100. That bombing resulted in the collapse of peace talks between the government of President Iván Duque and the ELN.
The bombing of the Puerto Jordán military base involved improvised explosives known as “tatucos,” part of the ELN’s violent tactics against military and civilian installations. While the ELN has not claimed responsibility for the attack, both the Army and the government have attributed the bombing to the group.
The attack came amid a deepening crisis in the ongoing peace negotiations between the government and the ELN. The peace talks were a cornerstone of Petro’s “Total Peace” policy, which aimed to negotiate with all armed groups operating in the country. Since taking office in 2022, Petro had made peace with the ELN a priority, reopening diplomatic channels with Venezuela, a guarantor country for the negotiations.
Talks were formally initiated in Caracas on November 21, 2022, involving not just Petro’s political allies and “peace envoys”, but also prominent industry leaders like José Félix Lafaurie of the Colombian Federation of Ranchers (Fedegán).
Despite initial progress, including a bilateral ceasefire agreed upon in August 2023, the ELN continued its attacks throughout the year. On March 9, the group killed nine soldiers in an ambush in Catatumbo, Norte de Santander. Nonetheless, the government and the ELN announced a broad negotiation agenda the following day, setting the stage for further dialogue in Havana, Cuba. The ceasefire was extended multiple times, even though clashes persisted, particularly in regions like Arauca, where the ELN has long maintained a presence.
The situation deteriorated further when the ELN refused to abandon kidnapping for economic gain, attacks against oil and energy infrastructure and opposed the leftist government’s negotiations with another armed group, Los Comuneros del Sur. As a result, talks were suspended in May amid mutual accusations of non-compliance. Four months have passed since the suspension, and the ceasefire expired 45 days ago.
In his statement, Petro hinted that the peace process may have reached an irreparable point of collapse. “The ELN did not understand the message or the total peace policy of the government,” he said. “They have lost a historic opportunity to negotiate peace; they insist on violence, they insist on harming Colombians.”
Otty Patiño, Colombia’s High Peace Commissioner, echoed Petro’s sentiment in a brief statement to the media, clarifying that the decision to dissolve the negotiation table rests solely with the president and himself. He indicated agreement with Petro’s position, suggesting that the president’s speech effectively signaled the end of the talks. “I believe the president’s speech is absolutely clear. A negotiation table cannot continue amid the blood of our wounded soldiers, of the civilian population,” he said. “The ELN has lost a historic opportunity for peace.”
 guerrilla for a violent attack that killed two soldiers and injured 27 others in Arauca, signaling a potential end to ongoing peace talks.){kind=link}