The ELN terrorist group announces that it will resume kidnappings in Colombia

The National Liberation Army (ELN), a narco-guerrilla group currently in negotiations with the Government of Colombia, announced that it will resume kidnappings. The guerrilla group alleged that the Executive failed to fulfill its commitment to provide donations from the international community.

"The Government shows little will to advance in this field. Given the above, the ELN terminates its offer of unilateral suspension of economic withholdings," the group said in a message broadcast on Telegram and obtained by AFP.

"Trade with human beings has no justification"

In that sense, the ELN's decision represents a blow to the negotiating table. The Colombian Government delegation rejected the announcement and maintained that trade with human beings has no justification.

"The delegation of the Colombian Government has always made it clear to the ELN that trade with human beings has no justification and its elimination is not the object of any transaction," the Government reacted in a statement.

The Executive also indicated that the multi-donor fund is for "the financing of the peace activities contained in the dialogues, in no way was it created as compensation for the suspension of the kidnapping or the interruption of another specific action included in the ceasefire."

Likewise, the Government maintained that it hopes that "the ELN maintains the commitment made to Colombian society and the international community and puts an end to any form of kidnapping."

The terrorists, in a truce with the security forces since 2023, had agreed - according to AFP - "to unilaterally and temporarily suspend economic withholdings" in January of this year. The decision came after a crisis in the negotiations caused by the kidnapping of the father of Liverpool's Colombian soccer player Luis Díaz.

The kidnapping of Luis Díaz's father lasted for weeks and generated enormous backlash in a country where some 50,000 people have been victims of this crime in the six decades of armed conflict, according to the state Truth Commission. Mane Díaz was released in November.

According to data from the Colombian Truth Commission, between 1985 and 2018, the armed conflict in that country contributed to at least 450,000 deaths. If under-registration is taken into account, that figure increases to 800,000 victims.

Meanwhile, 50,770 people were victims of kidnapping and hostage-taking within the framework of the armed conflict between 1990 and 2018. The ELN was responsible for at least 19% of these kidnappings.