Colombian Govt and ELN to resume talks next Monday in Venezuela

The Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) announced Friday that they will resume peace talks next Monday in Caracas, Venezuela.

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In a document signed by Danilo Rueda, High Commissioner for Peace, and Pablo Beltrán, ELN delegate, the return to the talks, frozen for four years, was made official.

The communiqué ratified the deep desire of the Colombian people, society and the nation to advance in a process of peace and full construction of democracy.

The return to the negotiating table in Caracas is part of the initiative of the Government of President Gustavo Petro, framed in his policy of total peace.

The text summons national and international journalists to the public installation ceremony to be held in the Venezuelan capital.

Peace talks between Colombian authorities and the ELN began in February 2017, during the administration of then President Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018).

The talks were suspended in August 2018, after the then right-wing president Iván Duque (2018-2022) made a series of demands to the ELN, among them to renounce its activities.

With Petro's arrival to power last August, both parties initiated contacts with the intention of resuming the dialogues, with Venezuela, Cuba and Norway as guarantor countries.

This Friday, the Colombian Attorney General's Office announced the suspension of arrest warrants against the negotiators appointed by the National Liberation Army (ELN) for the peace talks.