Two members of the Colombian armed guerrilla organization National Liberation Army (ELN). Photo: ELN.
Colombia President Gustavo Petro suspended the peace talks with the armed guerrilla organization National Liberation Army (ELN), saying that the organization has “no will for peace.”
Petro announced the decision on Friday, January 17, considering the ELN responsible for “war crimes” committed in the Catatumbo region.
“What the ELN has committed in Catatumbo are war crimes. The dialogue process with this group is suspended. The ELN has no will for peace,” the Colombian president wrote on social media.
President Petro’s statement comes amid the wave of violence that occurred from January 15 to 16 in the Catatumbo region, Norte de Santander department, in the border region with Venezuela. There, the ELN is engaged in an armed confrontation with the 33rd Front, commanded by alias Calarcá. The 33rd Front is part of the umbrella organization of dissident armed groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), known as the Central General Staff (EMC), which controls the town of Tibú in Norte de Santander department.
The Ombudsperson’s Office of Colombia reported that there have been at least 30 deaths in the region. Among the dead are five signatories of the 2016 peace agreement who were in the process of reincorporation.
Given this violence, social organizations in Catatumbo have demanded an immediate ceasefire and respect for the civilian population and social leaders.
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“The population should not be used as a tool of pressure or as a target of armed conflict,” President Petro stated.
Amid the growing security crisis in Catatumbo, the ELN issued a statement on Friday, January 17, denying responsibility for the murder of three persons of the same family, attributing it to the 33rd Front.
The attack, which occurred on January 15 on the road connecting the municipality of Tibú with Cúcuta, claimed the lives of Miguel Ángel López, his wife Zulay Durán Pacheco, and their six-month-old son Miguel Herney, while the couple’s older son of nine years survived the attack. The incident aggravated the already tense situation in this border zone with Venezuela.
📆 Fecha:15 de enero de 2025
📍 Lugar: Tibú, Norte de Santander
👥 Nº de Víctimas: 3 personas➡️Tres personas fueron asesinadas mientras se desplazaban por el sector de la vereda La Valera en la vía principal que comunica al municipio de Tibú con Cúcuta. pic.twitter.com/XQrzCf9D66
— INDEPAZ (@Indepaz) January 16, 2025
Gustavo Petro’s government and the ELN initiated the peace process in November 2022, when the first round of negotiations took place in Caracas.
The process was supported by guarantor and observer countries, including Norway, Venezuela, and Cuba.
At the last meeting in November 2023, both parties agreed on a bilateral ceasefire that began after the meeting and ended on August 3, 2024. This was the longest ceasefire ever agreed between the Colombian government and the ELN.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
