03/30/2023
The Colombian government is not ruling out ending negotiations with the armed group after the killing of nine soldiers.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the peace negotiators with the ELN this Wednesday (03/29/2023) to “investigate” the “heavy” attack by these guerrillas, in which nine soldiers were killed and nine others injured.
The soldiers were in a border area with Venezuela guarding the Caño Limón Coveñas oil pipeline, the country’s most important and a recurring target of the National Liberation Army (ELN), when they were attacked by the rebels, according to the official version.
In the middle of the peace talks, Petro “called for talks to investigate a really, very serious event,” said Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez.
The President tweeted his “total rejection” of the attack in El Carmen, in the department of Norte de Santander, and called for “consultation with the government delegation at the ELN table, the citizens and the accompanying countries”.
“A peace process must be serious and responsible with Colombian society,” he added.
Similarly, Presidential Peace Advisor Danilo Rueda asserted that with events like these, the ELN is “dodging peace-building in Colombia.”
Questioned by the press, Rueda did not rule out suspending the negotiations that began in November. “Healthy choices are made for the country,” he said.
Most of the soldiers killed were young conscripts in their 20s. According to the press, four belonged to the Wayúu indigenous people.
The attack marks the sixth attempt by a government to negotiate the disarmament of the powerful Guevarista guerrillas who will celebrate 60 years of war against the state next year.
Peace negotiations with the ELN began in Caracas and continued in a second cycle in Mexico City without a ceasefire agreement being reached.
Wednesday’s attack is the one that has claimed the most casualties since Petro came to power in August.
Without referring to the ELN, the President assured that the military are victims of “those who today are absolutely far from peace and people”.
jc (afp, W Radio Colombia)