Gustavo Petro and Antonio Garcia. Bloomberg/AFP
The long-awaited ceasefire with the ELN remains on hold. The government peace delegations and the last armed guerrillas negotiating in Havana have asked President Gustavo Petro and the commander of the National Liberation Army Antonio García this Thursday for another day to complete the third cycle of talks on the details of the texts” and theirs respective protocols.
The conclusion of the cycle was originally scheduled for this Thursday afternoon in Havana and the Presidency has announced Petro’s presence at the dialogue table for the first time. At the end of the previous cycle, Vice President Francia Márquez was present in Mexico City.
“The document and the protocols are only being adjusted. They have asked us for a period of time while this adjustment is being made, but we are very aware that we are moving forward,” Senator María José Pizarro told the preparing press at Catam military airport in Bogotá to accompany the President on his trip to Cuba. “Most likely it will be tomorrow,” added Pizarro, who is also part of the government delegation.
The President himself has confirmed that the trip is still ongoing. “In the next few hours, I will travel to Havana to attend the conclusion of the third cycle of the Round Table on Peace Dialogues,” he confirmed with a trill at noon sharp.
“It is the first time that the ELN is preparing for a six-month bilateral hiring. Never before has this been achieved in a peace process with these guerrillas. “We are making significant progress,” Peace Commissioner Danilo Rueda predicted in an interview with EL PAÍS the day before. The government is urging the peace table set up in Cuba by this cycle to deliver results, and the president has grown impatient to agree on a ceasefire that will provide relief to communities that have suffered most from the hardships of war.
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