Colombia Suspends Peace Talks With ELN Guerrillas After Attack on Army Base
Colombia Suspends Peace Talks With ELN Guerrillas After Attack on Army Base
The Facts
Colombia announced on Wednesday that peace talks with the leftist guerrilla National Liberation Army (ELN) have been put on hold until the rebel group provides an "unequivocal demonstration of peace."
This comes after the country's president, Gustavo Petro, blamed the Maoist group for an explosives attack on a military base in the department of Arauca, near Venezuela, that left two soldiers dead and 27 others injured on Tuesday.
The Spin
Unlike past peace processes, Petro's ambitious Total Peace sought to finally bring the country's decades-long armed conflict to an end, ensuring that guerrillas would not be persecuted once demobilized and disarmed. That talks with the ELN have now been called off doesn't discredit the plan, as there has been success in talks with other groups.
Total Peace was always a failure waiting to happen, as there were no incentives to stop armed groups continuing to expand their territorial control. It's certain that Bogotá did sign cease-fires with some guerrilla groups, but the truth is that violence has risen under Petro.