The four of them were placed in the best seats of the Colombian Air Force aircraft, next to the pilot’s cabin. Standing with their backs to the dashboard were Danilo Rueda, the peace commissioner, and José Félix Lafaurie, the ranchers’ and landowners’ representative, a right-wing man whom the president surprisingly called in. In front of them the ex-guerrilla Otty Patiño and Iván Cepeda, a politician who Gustavo Petro trusts the most. They were on their way to Caracas, where negotiations with the ELN, the continent’s last active guerrillas, begin tomorrow. They had a relaxed chat, with Lafaurie carrying the weight – he’s not one to save – who displayed great knowledge of the Venezuelan economy. The four heavyweights in the negotiations once posed for a historic photo to which EL PAÍS had exclusive access. At that very moment they flew towards total peace, the supreme idea that people in this country would no longer kill each other for political beliefs.
The portrait draws attention to sitting on such opposite sides of the Colombian ideological arc. As recently as six months ago, Lafaurie branded Petro a Nazi and viewed him as a threat to the nation. For now, he’s on his side, playing a relevant role in one of the president’s key goals of finding peace with an armed group that has been in arms for more than 50 years. The rancher shared a plane this Sunday with Patiño, the government’s chief negotiator, a former M-19 guerrilla that also included Petro. Lafaurie represents the complete opposite of the landlords behind the paramilitary rise. This conflict has drenched the land of this country in blood. Now they seem to seek peace together.
After landing, the Colombian delegation headed for the Humboldt Hotel, a gem designed by architect Tomás José Sanabria on behalf of Venezuelan dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez. Hugo Chávez recovered this building above the clouds, on a hill that can be reached by cable car. Nicolás Maduro, his successor, completed the renovation and now serves as a luxury establishment. Design magazines from all over the world have reported on the place in recent years. Negotiations will take place there for at least 20 days. The headquarters will continue to rotate, as per the old deal the guerrillas made with ex-President Juan Manuel Santos.
At the airport, both delegations, the government and the ELN, met on the runway. Also the delegates of the mediating countries. They all went to the Humboldt for dinner. The first talks have already begun there. Both teams go a bit blind. There is no guidance yet on what to discuss, all of this has yet to be finalized. These are the first signs of a relationship that needs to drift towards a climate of trust. There are concerns on both sides, everything has been said. The government knows that the ELN leaders, very theoretical and idealistic, are very tough negotiators. And the guerrillas distrust the word of politics by default, after the state has not always played its part in the negotiation process.
Things start with a historical photo that will be true if an agreement is reached, and Petro and his people end with an anachronism inherited from the 20th century, that of armed groups trying to seize power by force. That’s where Petro comes from, that’s where Patiño comes from. Now they want to be the ones to put an end to this.
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