The ELN is prepared to negotiate with the Colombian Government in exchange for a ceasefire

Colombia's largest guerrilla group is taking up the possibility of initiating peace agreements in a climate of mistrust and few guarantees. The National Liberation Army (ELN) has replaced the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and has occupied most of the spaces and territories that the previous guerrilla had abandoned thanks to the peace process begun in 2016.
The ELN also wanted to join these peace agreements, but in 2019 it broke away from the talks following the attack on the General Santander Police School in January 2019. 

Now it seems that the outlook may change. This week from Havana (Cuba), the ELN's chief negotiator, Israel Ramírez Pineda (also known as 'Pablo Beltrán'), has assured that the guerrilla group does not close the door on renegotiating peace with the Colombian government, but has insisted on a mutual ceasefire as a prerequisite.

In an interview from Havana with DPA, Pineda stated that, despite the fact that more than a year and a half has passed since the negotiations with Iván Duque's government broke down, both sides "know what the other thinks about it" and once again stressed the proposal of a mutual ceasefire with which to take the first steps.

The chief negotiator of the ELN addressed several issues such as the recent mobilisations against the government (in which the armed group has confirmed its presence) and the police violence in several cities in the country, as well as the Venezuelan government's alleged collaboration with the guerrilla, which it has categorically denied.

In this regard, he pointed out that the guerrilla negotiating team is waiting for the Colombian government to appoint its delegates "so that there can be discreet and confidential initial meetings" and thus "see what the mutual expectations are" with a view to a possible agreement.

"We are available here, in Cuba, or wherever, the important thing is that we begin to look at the possibilities of relaunching the negotiations," the chief negotiator said.
 

The ELN currently has some 3,000 active members and occupies territories in almost half the country, concentrating mainly on the Pacific and Caribbean coast departments. It also has a presence in more than five departmental capitals (Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cúcuta, Barranquilla and Tunja) through various urban commandos.

This guerrilla was born inspired by the Cuban revolution and is marked by a strong religious influence, with the priest Camilo Torres as an important figure. Many celebrate the day of his death in Colombia and he is considered a martyr of the armed group despite the fact that he was killed in his first intervention in support of the guerrillas. The group is considered a terrorist organisation by Colombia, Peru, the United States, Canada and the European Union and has a very strong influence within Colombia.

In February 2020 the armed group called a national strike that paralysed the country. Through a press release they threatened to attack any land, river and air transport that moved during the weekend of 14-15 February. Despite being an illegal group with "no de facto power" in the Colombian administration, most people living in departments with an ELN presence respected the indications and stayed at home.

This group has a great influence, but it is not the only determinant; violence "in general" is what influences the daily policies and decisions of Colombian citizens. The ELN guerrilla is not the only armed group in the country; in fact, this group is not only at odds with the Colombian government. There are other militias and groups that are constantly fighting each other for control of different territories, for example, the Gulf Clan or the Gaitanist Self-Defence Forces, both of which are also in direct conflict with the ELN.
 

The Peace Accords initiated by former President Juan Manuel Santos are being held up and stalled by the new administration of Iván Duque, which is placing obstacles in the way and delaying the deadlines set out in the calendar. 

The Truth Commission is creating a really extensive report with testimonies from victims. The commission itself admits that it cannot cope and does not know if it will be able to finish within the remaining one and a half years.

Hopelessness reigns in the most affected departments because violence is still present in Colombia. The murders of social leaders and ex-guerrillas of the FARC or the massacres in areas dominated by these groups or by gangs engaged in drug trafficking are daily occurrences in rural Colombia.

A study published last week by the NGO Electoral Observation Mission (EOM), noted that the number of murders of social leaders increased this year by 85% compared to the first half of 2019. According to the Revolutionary Alternative Force of the Common (FARC) party, which emerged from the demobilization of the guerrillas, 228 former combatants have also been killed since November 2016.

"In the face of lethal violence, 81 social leaders have been killed so far in 2020," the EOM report said. According to the report, 52 of these crimes were committed in the regions where the government has implemented the Territorially Focused Development Plans (PDET), "which means that 64.2 per cent of the killings took place in areas prioritised by the state to avoid the sources of violence.

But violence in rural areas is not the only stumbling block for the government, which for the past few weeks has had to deal with cases of police violence mainly in Bogotá, where a 46-year-old man brutally arrested on 9 September died shortly afterwards in a hospital, giving rise to protests that ended in more violence, with 13 other people killed.

As a result of these and other controversial actions, the defence minister, on whom the police depend, will have to deal in the coming weeks with motions of censure requested by the opposition in the Senate and House of Representatives to explain to the country how public security is handled.