ELN Announces Capture of Colombian Soldier Spying on Rebels

The National Liberation Army of Colombia, known as the ELN, claimed responsibility Tuesday for the capture of army soldier Fredy Moreno Mahecha who was reported as disappeared on Jan. 24.

RELATED:
Exclusive: ELN Leader Talks Fidel, Peace and Colombian Politics

The eastern front of the ELN explained in a communique that the soldier was captured as he was “carrying out spying activities between Saravena and La Esmeralda, in Arauquita, in the northeast of the country.

They added that the military officer will be handed to Colombian authorities "with the respective humanitarian protocol," and told his family he "was well-treated and was in a good health state."

ELN Commander Uriel commented Wednesday that the procedure for delivering lawmaker Odin Sanchez to a humanitarian commission had started. The commission includes delegates from the six guarantor countries, the International Red Cross and the government of Colombia.

The ELN is expected to release Odin Sanchez on Feb. 2, while the government will release two ELN members currently in prison on the same day. The two sides agreed to start the official public phase of peace negotiations on Feb. 7 in Quito, Ecuador.

The talks will cover six major points, already agreed to in preliminary negotiations, which are: the participation of civil society in the peacebuilding process; democracy for peace; transformation for peace, victims; ending the conflict; and implementation of the agreements. The roadmap overlaps considerably with the cornerstones of the agreement between the government and the FARC, highlighting the root causes of inequality underlying the conflict.

Colombia’s five-decade armed conflict has claimed some 260,000 lives and displaced at least 7 million people. Estimates suggest that right-wing paramilitaries are responsible for up to 80 percent of the violence and human rights abuses that took place during the 52 years of conflict.