In Colombia, the peace process promised by President Petro is making progress. On Sunday night he announced that a ceasefire and peace negotiations had been agreed with five armed groups.
The Colombian government has agreed a six-month ceasefire with the ELN guerrillas, FARC dissidents and drug gangs. A "bilateral ceasefire" from January 1 to June 30, 2023 was agreed with the "ELN, the Segunda Marquetalia, the Estado Mayor Central, the AGC (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia) and the Autodefensas de la Sierra Nevada". the left-wing President Gustavo Petro on New Year's Eve (local time) on Twitter.
"This is a courageous act," tweeted Colombia's first left-wing president. "The bilateral ceasefire obliges the armed organizations and the state to comply with it. There will be a national and international review mechanism." The government announced that it would issue a decree for each of the organizations specifying the duration and terms of the ceasefire. It can be extended beyond June 30th.
These are the five main armed groups in Colombia. The rebel organization ELN had previously announced a unilateral ceasefire over Christmas and until January 2nd. In 2016, the largest Colombian guerrilla organization, FARC, signed a peace agreement with the government. Since then, the ELN has been the strongest remaining rebel organization in the South American country.
Petro himself was a member of the M-19 guerrilla movement. During his inaugural speech as president last August, he announced that he would unite the divided country and lead it to "total peace". Peace negotiations are currently underway between the ELN and the Petro government. Peace talks began in November. The negotiations are to be hosted alternately by Venezuela, Cuba and Norway.
As early as 2016, after years of fighting against the Colombian government, the left-wing FARC concluded a peace agreement with the state and surrendered its weapons. In 2019, however, a small faction of the FARC announced rearmament because the agreement with the government was said to have been broken. At least 450,000 people were killed in fighting between government troops, left-wing rebel groups, right-wing militias and drug cartels in Colombia between 1985 and 2018.
