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Ecuadorean President Lenín Moreno announced Wednesday that his country would no longer serve as the guarantor and host in the Colombian government's peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN).
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Speaking with local media outlets Noticias RCN and NTN 24, Moreno announced: "I have asked the foreign minister of Ecuador to stop talks and our status as guarantor, while the ELN does not commit to leaving terrorist activities."
An ELN representative told Reuters the group would meet with the Colombian and Ecuadorean governments and the other guarantors to look for a solution. "They want to use us as scapegoats for what others are doing," the representative said.
Former far-right Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and long-standing opponent of the peace accords signed in August 2016 with other guerrilla group FARC, twitted that "Ecuador's Lenin Moreno" is giving "a good example" by "prohibiting the dialogue until the violence persists."
Buen ejemplo del Presidente Lenín Moreno del Ecuador: prohibir diálogo con ELN mientras persista la violencia
— Álvaro Uribe Vélez (@AlvaroUribeVel) 18 avril 2018
Former Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa deplored the decision, saying it was "terrible news not only for Colombia, but for the entire America" on Twitter.
In March, the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) resumed their 5th round of peace talks in Quito, Ecuador and agreed to continue this round of talks until May 18.
ELN and the Colombian government stated at the time that they were discussing the possibility of agreeing on a new bilateral ceasefire. The last one was agreed on in October last year and lasted for 101 days.
"We will resume the work of the dialogue table, addressing in this cycle the points of participation of society in the construction of peace, the assessment of the bilateral, temporary and national ceasefire that ended on Jan. 9 of this year and the construction of an agreement to a new cessation," both parties stated in the document. The announcement made by Moreno Wednesday will significantly derail attempts for the parties to agree on a new ceasefire.
The announcement comes just days after Cesar Navas, Ecuador’s Interior Minister, announced another kidnapping had taken place on the country's northern border, with Colombia and Moreno confirming the death of three Ecuadorean journalists kidnapped in March.
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