12/04/2022 04:59 (act. 12/04/2022 04:59)
Colombia’s leftist president Gustavo Petro ©APA/Colombian Presidency
A first success was obtained in the peace negotiations between the new left-wing government of Colombia and the ELN guerrilla organization: an agreement was reached on the return of people displaced by the ELN to their regions of origin in the west of the country, said President Gustavo Petro on Saturday (local time) in Beiba, in northwest Colombia.
The former guerrilla fighter was elected in August as the South American country’s first left-wing head of state. Petro has set itself the goal of ending armed conflicts in Colombia. Almost two weeks ago, peace talks began with the ELN in Venezuela, which will be held alternately by Venezuela, Cuba and Norway.
The agreement now concluded on the return of the displaced mainly affects members of indigenous ethnic groups. Some of them have occupied several parks in the capital Bogotá in protest actions since 2020, and there have also been violent clashes with the police.
In 2016, the largest Colombian guerrilla organization, the FARC, signed a peace agreement with the government at the time. Since then, the ELN has been the strongest remaining rebel organization in the South American country. The ELN, founded in 1964, would still have around 2,500 combatants, who are mainly in the border areas with Venezuela and on the Pacific coast.