The guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Colombian government restarted the peace dialogue in Caracas on Monday before international observers, finally resuming the process suspended in 2018.
For the Colombian executive, the negotiating team is chaired by Otty Patiño, a former guerrilla close to President Gustavo Petro. Israel Ramírez, alias Pablo Beltrán, leads the ELN delegation.
In a joint declaration, the parties involved agreed to “resume with full political and ethical will the process of political dialogue”, understood as a claim “of the rural and urban territories that suffer from violence and exclusion”.
Colombian guerrilla shows Petro its “full readiness” to advance in the peace process
They also promised to “build peace based on a democracy with justice, with tangible, urgent and necessary changes” that result from the negotiating table.
The parties thanked Venezuela, which sent greetings as the host country, and Norway and Cuba, guarantor nations that read a statement ratifying their support for the process.
All expressed their hope that the negotiations reach a safe harbor. The Catholic Church of Colombia and the United Nations participate as guests.
From Russia, President Miguel Díaz Canel said via Twitter that the restart of this process represents an opportunity to achieve the peace deserved by the Colombian people.
In the same way, the Minister of Foreign Relations, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, ratified the Cuban support for the process and conveyed to both parties the wishes of success in the agreed agenda.
“We are in Caracas at the reinstatement of the Talks Table between the Government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) where we confirm Cuba’s decision as guarantor to continue supporting this dialogue process. Cuba’s performance in this process will continue to be guided by the strictest respect for the consent and specific agreements reached between the parties. Today an opportunity opens to achieve the peace that the people of Colombia deserve,” he tweeted. Eugenio Martinezof the Cuban delegation.
Peace negotiations with the ELN began in 2017 in Quito, Ecuador. They were transferred months later to Havana, during the government of President Juan Manuel Santos, but they were suspended in 2018 by his successor, Iván Duque. Now they have been resumed by decision of the Colombian president Gustavo Petro.
