ELN rebels say peace talks with Colombian government in 'crisis'

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Colombia's leftist rebels of the National Liberation Army (ELN) announced on Monday that the peace talks held with the Colombian government in Cuba had entered "a crisis" due to President Gustavo Petro questioning the unity of its leadership.

"The Peace Dialogues cannot be subjected to the ups and downs in the public statements of the president," said a statement from the rebel group.

"The Negotiations Table has entered into crisis and clarity is required from the Government so that the road to peace is cleared and we speak with a coherent language to the country and to the world," it added.

A few days earlier, Petro had questioned the command of the armed group and ordered the military to attack illicit economies such as drug trafficking that finance illegal armed groups.

"Do they command? Do they really command?" he asked of the ELN commanders.

On Monday afternoon, the government said that the impasse had been overcome and it recognized the legitimacy of the ELN delegation.

The statement said that this process "is serious and coherent with the constant plea of the communities to cease violence in the territories" and called on both parties to be responsible with the dynamics of the armed conflict.

The ELN has more than 5,800 members and it is considered a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union.

Talks between the guerrilla group and the Colombian government resumed in November last year after leftist president Petro came to power.

The first cycle of talks took place in Venezuela between November and December 2022 and the second cycle was held in Mexico in February. The third round began in Cuba in May.

Negotiations with the rebel group began in 2017 in Quito during the government of Juan Manuel Santos, and in 2018 they were moved to Havana.

The talks were interrupted in 2019 by former President Ivan Duque a day after the group carried out a bombing in a police academy in Bogota that killed 21 police officers.