RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The ELN, the last recognized guerrilla group in Colombia, announced a 10-day cease-fire Monday ahead of the May 29 presidential election, where an opposition figure and former rebel who favors dialogue with the rebels is setting the tone.
“We declare a unilateral cease-fire from midnight May 25 until midnight June 3, so that those who wish to vote can do so in peace,” the National Liberation Army (ELN, leftist Guevarist) said in a statement posted on rebel propaganda websites.
In keeping with its tradition of not interfering in electoral processes, the organization led by Antonio García said it wanted to “create a new political moment” with this new ceasefire before the winner of the elections was determined.
Although the truce “includes the government’s military and police forces,” it warned that it “reserves the right” to defend itself in the event of an attack.
On Monday, Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano dismissed the ELN’s announcement, adding that the movement was trying to position itself for “future talks” with the next government.
“The security forces provide security here,” Molano stressed at a public event.
The ELN, which has an army of some 2,500 fighters, opened the door to new negotiations after talks in Cuba with the government of Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018) broke down and were abandoned by his successor, right-wing Iván Duque, following a car bomb attack on a training center for police officers that killed some 20 people in 2019.
“A peace process with the ELN is the best opportunity to address priority problems in the country such as corruption, assassinations of leaders, and drug trafficking,” the guerrilla movement said.
PEACE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
At the end of an intense and polarized campaign, Colombians will choose the successor to Duque, who is ending his four-year term under pressure from widespread rejection and without the constitutional possibility of re-election.
All polls see senator and former Bogotá mayor Gustavo Petro, a 62-year-old leftist. They fought alongside the M-19 group against state forces before signing the peace accord in the early 1990s as the winner. However, he would not have enough support to avoid a runoff election set for June 19.
His most likely challenger would be former Medellín Mayor Federico Gutiérrez, running for a coalition of right-wing forces.
Petro advocates “resuming dialogue with the ELN,” which has been under arms for six decades, initially at the instigation of the United Nations.
Gutiérrez, for his part, makes any rapprochement to peace conditional on an end to the group’s violent actions, including attacks on security forces.
“My proposal for the ELN is a unilateral and indefinite cease-fire, and once we win the presidency, we will sit down to talk,” the conservative candidate said at a campaign event.
The ELN emerged during the Cold War in the heat of the Cuban Revolution. Despite the many blows it took during that time, it continues to exert influence in various parts of Colombian territory.
The rebel commando agreed to negotiate with the government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Santos, in parallel with the negotiations that in 2017 led to the disarmament of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, Marxist), until then, the most powerful guerrilla group on the continent.
It has resumed its offensive in recent years after the talks ended. The Duque government has denounced that some of the rebel forces are seeking refuge on the Venezuelan side of the border with the support of the Chavista socialist authorities.