The National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group will be lifted this Monday, August 19, the armed strike which has immobilized five municipalities for a week department of Chocó, causing, among others, the death of a 16-month-old indigenous baby who could not be transferred to a hospital.
(See: ‘Confidential proposal’ to ELN is related to ‘economic reform’).
The ELN announced this measure last Sunday due to the offensive of the Gulf Clan, Colombia’s main criminal gang, and affected the municipalities of Istmina, Medio Baudó, Sipí, Nóvita and Medio San Juan, which are in the basins of the San Juan, Sipí and Cajón rivers, In addition to the road that connects to New with Torrá.
“We end the armed strike as of 6:00 am on August 19, 2024 and we thank the population for having complied with the order, since no incidents occurred.“, he explained the ELN’s Omar Gómez Western War Front in a statement.
However, this Thursday the death of an indigenous baby was reported due to lack of medical attention, which the authorities linked to the armed strike.This fact cannot and should not be repeated.“, he wrote then President Gustavo Petro, in your X account.
Armed strike is a strategy that prevents any commercial or daily activity of the affected populations. which the ELN frequently resorts to, Chocó being one of the regions where it most imposes it on its inhabitants, since the guerrilla alleges that there is an alleged alliance between the military and paramilitaries of the Clan del Golfo.
Regarding the security of Chocó, The Army announced the deployment of 5,000 men in that part of the country to counteract the actions of the guerrilla groups, drug trafficking groups and human traffickers.
(See: Colombian government: ELN must assume responsibility for future dialogues).
To this end, there will be the deployment of land and river control posts, as well as air patrols throughout the department. In addition, security councils will be held in various municipalities to join forces to combat crime.
ELN.
THE TIME file
In this context, the Government reported on Saturday, August 17, that it presented the ELN peace delegation with a “confidential proposal” to advance the dialogues, which are going through a critical moment due to the demands of this guerrilla group that the Executive removes them from the list of terrorist groups and the termination of the bilateral ceasefire.
The terms of the proposal will be announced later, according to instructions received from Colombian President Gustavo Petro, according to Senator Iván Cepeda, who made the announcement together with the government’s chief negotiator, Vera Grabe.
(See: Businessmen’s concerns about the peace process with the ELN).
Senator Iván Cepeda and the Government’s chief negotiator, Vera Grabe.
THE TIME
The bilateral ceasefire with the ELN expired on August 3 and has not been able to be extended. The armed group has imposed one of the conditions that the Government remove it from the list of organized armed groups (GAO) in order to resume the truce.
EFE
