Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, asked his team to reach a bilateral ceasefire with the ELN ahead of the new round of negotiations that begins in Mexico on February 13.
On February 7, Colombian President Gustavo Petro asked the negotiating team of his administration that is discussing peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) to try to agree on a ceasefire with the guerrillas as soon as possible, after of the impasse that occurred at the end of 2022.
For an hour, Petro met with the negotiating team headed by Otty Patiño to find out about the progress in the meetings with the ELN that were held in Venezuela and what are the prospects for going to the second round of talks in Mexico that begin on next February 13.
However, the Colombian president asked the negotiators to reach an agreement with the ELN for a bilateral ceasefire and minimize the intensity of the confrontations.
*Read also: Dialogues between the Colombian government and the ELN will continue in February in Mexico
Although for the ELN things with the government of Gustavo Petro are moving slower than they expect, at least from what the top commander of that insurgent group, Antonio García, says on Twitter that “it seems” that reaching the so-called “total peace” is compromised with “business.”
He stressed that the National Liberation Army is still considered a group that is at the level of those who practice drug trafficking, which in his opinion suggests that things remain at the same point as they were with former President Iván Duque.
Similarly, he lashed out at the Petro administration by saying that the peace process between the government and the ELN “or can be used as an” umbrella “for unclear issues” and stressed that having a mechanism like the one activated is to make Colombia «a more democratic, fair and inclusive country».
It seems that “La Paz Total” was committed to other businesses… that’s what appears ??
– Antonio Garcia (@antonioGcdte) February 6, 2023
The government has not been in tune with what was agreed at the Mesa. If the ELN continues to be considered GAO, it means that we are still at the same point that Duque left, that is, we are not taking off as it should be.
– Antonio Garcia (@antonioGcdte) February 6, 2023
He THE N and the delegation of the Government of Colombia had to hold an extraordinary meeting in Caracas to smooth things out after Gustavo Petro said that there was a bilateral ceasefire on December 31, 2022, which was denied by the insurgent group, recalling that this It should be part of the agenda to discuss after touching on the issues that were pending in Venezuela.
With additional information from EFE
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