The Government of Petro and the ELN meet again in Caracas to settle the ‘crisis’ of the peace dialogue

The official meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday, January 18, in the Venezuelan capital.

The Government of Colombia and the guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) agreed to hold an extraordinary meeting in Venezuela to try to overcome the growing tensions generated in recent days, and which have placed the peace talks that both parties are carrying out in a ‘crisis’ since last year.

The meeting, which has already been confirmed by the ELN delegation, is scheduled for this Wednesday and, according to the guerrilla group, among the issues to be discussed are establish “clarities to overcome the crisis generated” and try to move towards “the harmonic continuity of the second cycle” of talks.

The friction between the government and the guerrillas intensified after Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on December 31 that various irregular armed groups, including the ELN, they had agreed to a bilateral ceasefire as part of the process of leading the country towards the long-awaited “total peace”.

Almost immediately the insurgent group denied that it had discussed this measure with the Government and denounced that the announcement violated what was agreed in December in Caracas, Therefore, they considered that the dialogue had entered into a crisis. However, they showed willingness to examine the proposal, but only during the second cycle of talks scheduled to take place in Mexico in mid-February.

But tensions continued to escalate. Faced with the refusal of the armed group to cease hostilities, Petro issued a decree to resume military and police operations against the ELNwhich were suspended, and days later he issued an ultimatum.

What have the protagonists said?

“Or the path of Father Camilo Torres Restrepo or the path of Pablo Escobar“, were Petro’s words to demand that the guerrillas decide where to move in the midst of tensions.

The president’s statement arose from a comment on Twitter to statements by the president of the Colombian Congress, Roy Barreras, who warned the insurgents that they had an opportunity they could not miss and that would allow them to decide whether to go down in history as “builders of peace” or “as a guerrilla that degenerated into drug trafficking and ended up only bringing pain, death and kidnapping.”

In the midst of the friction, the High Commissioner for Peace, Danilo Rueda, clarified that the second cycle of talks with the guerrillas would be held in Mexico and “in the times provided by the parties”, for which reason a call was made to “avoid speculation” about a possible suspension of the process.

For his part, Antonio Garcia, first commander of the ELN, who responded to the government’s accusations and clarified that the guerrillas had no dilemmas or ties to drug trafficking, spoke in a conciliatory tone and summarized the crisis that the dialogue table is suffering.

The guerrilla leader reiterated that the situation arose when agreed “procedures” were breached and “an alleged agreement that did not exist” was made public. In this regard, he insisted: “Errors and crises are not bad, they show that we are human and we make mistakes. Therefore, the error must be recognized and rectified.”

Garcia added that on the side of the ELN no carelessness has been committed and for this reason he estimated that “It wouldn’t be good to let that government mistake go by.”, but “make it see and rectify”. “It is not an ELN strategy at all, let alone seeking to collect accounts,” she added.

Regarding the extraordinary meeting, the ELN chief said that in that meeting the parties will “review what happened at the Table, in the presence of Guarantors and Permanent Companions,” and stressed that the participants in the dialogue have “the maturity to analyze what happened and resume the path agreed in December. In the next few days we will hold the Extraordinary Meeting, we trust that it will go well”.

“A Very Important Meeting”

Monsignor Hector Fabio Henao, delegate of the Colombian Episcopal Conference for Peace Talks with the ELN, told the local outlet Blu Radio that the fact that both parties agreed to hold the extraordinary meeting before the new cycle of talks in Mexico raises the level of importance of that meeting.

“This is a very important meeting, due to the will expressed by both parties to continue in the process of find ways out to different situations that have arisen”, commented the spokesperson for the church, after describing the appointment as “a good sign of will” to move forward and design solutions to the problems that have arisen.

“I think All negotiations go through situations where clarifications are required, where adjustments are required. Every negotiation goes through moments in which you have to review the route and this is normal,” Henao said.

Regarding the issues that could be addressed, Henao indicated that this is an issue that must be defined by the parties, but stressed that there is “a purposeful environment”.

“The important is that you arrive with an atmosphere of greater openness possible and I think that he is entering a very positive environment to find ways out,” added the religious leader about the appointment.

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