The government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) resumed peace talks on Monday. The meeting, which took place in Caracas, Venezuela, comes four years after the peace agreement was suspended by then Colombian President Iván Duque.
In the joint statement read by both parties, delegates of the current Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, and the ELN agreed to "resume the dialogue process with full political and ethical will."
In addition, they gave assurances in the statement that the UN shared on Twitter, that they will do so as "demanded by the people of rural and urban territories suffering from violence, exclusion and other sectors of society." Its objective is "to build peace based on a democracy with justice and with tangible, urgent and necessary changes that this table agrees upon."
🔵 Here the declaration of the Guarantor and Accompanying Countries of the Peace Process between the Government of the Republic of Colombia 🇨🇴 and the National Liberation Army, #ELN, today in #Caracas, Venezuela.👇 https://t.co/xiUUQu6dPQ pic.twitter.com/r0549GJR14
- UN Mission in Colombia (@MisionONUCol) November 21, 2022
Guarantors of the conversation: Venezuela, Cuba and Norway
The negotiations will have several intermediaries whose function will be to guarantee an eventual agreement. Venezuela, Cuba and Norway will be the countries mediating the dialogue. They were thanked for their "persistence, commitment and presence" by the representatives of the Colombian government and the ELN who have been charged with achieving peace.
The Colombian government is counting on M-19 terrorist Otty Patiño and the president of the Colombian Federation of Cattle Ranchers (Fedegan), José Félix Lafourie to lead the negotiations. The latter was personally appointed by President Gustavo Petro in the effort to guarantee peace.
On the side of the National Liberation Army, is the second in command of the guerrillas, Israel Ramírez Pineda alias Pablo Beltran.
