Colombia’s government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group completed a sixth round of peace talks in Cuba on February 6. They agreed to renew a six-month-old ceasefire for another six months, through August 4.
The ceasefire is to include a halt in guerrilla kidnappings. As of February 7, according to lead government negotiator Vera Grabe, the ELN had released 23 of 26 people it had been holding. On February 18 the group released a dentist whom it had kidnapped in Magdalena.
Negotiators also agreed to create an international multi-color fund to support peace activities. The next round of talks is to take place in Venezuela.
- Albeiro Caro, Sexto Ciclo de Negociacion Gobierno-Eln: Ir Mas Alla del Papel. Contextos Que Retan la Capacidad de Escribir una Nueva Realidad en los Territorios (Corporacion Nuevo Arco Iris (Colombia), Wednesday, February 21, 2024).
- Juan Sebastian Lombo Delgado, ¿Cuantos Secuestrados Tiene el Eln Tras la Liberacion de Juan Carlos Bayter? (El Tiempo (Colombia), Monday, February 19, 2024).
- Santiago Rodriguez Alvarez, ““de los 26 Secuestrados por el Eln, 23 Ya Fueron Liberados”: Vera Grabe” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), February 7, 2024).
- Astrid Suarez, Manuel Rueda, Colombia Extends Cease-Fire With National Liberation Army as Rebels Promise to Stop Kidnappings (Associated Press, Associated Press, Tuesday, February 6, 2024).
- Venezuela Sera Sede del Proximo Ciclo de Conversaciones Entre Colombia y Eln (Tal Cual (Venezuela), Tuesday, February 6, 2024).
Despite the ceasefire, ELN units in the southern region of the northwestern department of Chocó declared an “armed strike,” prohibiting people from transiting on roads and rivers for about a week in mid-February. It was the ELN’s third armed strike in this area in seven months. The ELN and the Gulf Clan have been fighting in southern Chocó for years, and the humanitarian crisis—especially forced displacements and confinements—is worsening for communities along the San Juan and Baudó rivers, which are busy smuggling corridors.
The ceasefire, which is limited to stopping fighting between the ELN and the government, is “incomplete” and does not specifically prohibit confinements of populations, said negotiating team member Sen. Iván Cepeda.
- Juan Miguel Hernandez Bonilla, “Las Comunidades del Choco Asediadas por el Eln Piden Ser Escuchadas en la Mesa de Dialogo: “en Sipi Todos Estamos Confinados”” (El Pais (Spain), February 21, 2024).
- Camilo A. Castillo, “Los Pedidos de las Autoridades del Choco a Delegacion del Gobierno en Mesa Con el Eln” (El Tiempo (Colombia), February 19, 2024).
- Andres Osorio Guillott, “Los Llamados de Urgencia a Delegacion del Gobierno Con Eln Tras Reunion en Choco” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 17, 2024).
- Camilo A. Castillo, “Gobierno Le Apuesta a Priorizar ‘Zonas Criticas’ para Aplicar Acuerdos Con Eln y Emc” (El Tiempo (Colombia), February 16, 2024).
- Woslher Castro Sinisterra, “El Paro Armado en Choco y la Paz Desde Abajo” (Jovenes Empuja, La Silla Vacia (Colombia), February 14, 2024).
- “Paro Armado en el Choco y Violencia en Cauca Siembran Dudas Sobre Ceses del Fuego” (El Tiempo (Colombia), February 13, 2024).
- Cese al Fuego: 236 Violaciones a los Derechos Humanos se Cometieron en 2023 (El Espectador (Colombia), Monday, February 5, 2024).
ELN negotiators announced on February 20 that they are putting the dialogues on hold. They were reportedly unhappy with the government’s approval of separate dialogues between a single ELN structure and the government of the southwestern department of Nariño (which shares a party affiliation with President Gustavo Petro). The ELN is contesting territory in Nariño with the Central General Staff (EMC) ex-FARC dissident network.
The ELN’s Comuneros del Sur front appears to be more disposed to a faster-paced dialogue; conversations began informally in September 2023. While the Petro government supports the idea of “regional dialogues,” ELN’s national leadership prefers that it negotiate with the group as a whole.
The government has a strong incentive to seek talks with individual ELN units, as the guerrilla group has a loose central command structure with very autonomous units. “The Eastern and Western War fronts, due to their operability and lethality, represent more or less 70 percent of the ELN and these structures are not at the table,” Carlos Velandia, a former ELN leader who is now a frequently cited analyst, told El Tiempo.
- Santiago Rodriguez Alvarez, “El Dialogo Regional Que Impulsa el Gobierno Desnuda la Fragilidad del Eln” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), February 22, 2024).
- Cindy A. Morales Castillo, “La Amenaza de Fragmentacion en el Eln Que Tiene en Vilo la Negociacion Con Petro” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 22, 2024).
- Camilo A. Castillo, “Dialogos Regionales: La via Alterna de la ‘Paz Total’ Que Incomoda al Eln” (El Tiempo (Colombia), February 22, 2024).
- Cindy A. Morales Castillo, “Las Razones Que Llevaron al Eln a Decir Que Dialogo Con Gobierno Podria Congelarse” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 21, 2024).
The EMC staged a 27-day “armed strike” in parts of southern Caquetá department.
- Julian Rios Monroy, Tras 27 Dias, Disidencias de las Farc Levantan Paro en Rios del Caqueta y Putumayo (El Espectador (Colombia), Monday, February 19, 2024).
Following recent ELN and EMC armed actions against civilians in Antioquia, Cauca, Chocó, Nariño, Valle del Cauca, and elsewhere, High Commissioner for Peace Otty Patiño warned that “The ceasefire is not a permit to commit crimes.” Analysts viewed this as a hardening of the Petro government’s tone toward armed groups participating in negotiations, and a break with the approach of former High Commissioner Danilo Rueda.
- Cindy A. Morales Castillo, Gustavo Montes Arias, “Los Hechos Violentos Que Ponen a Prueba al Gobierno y Sus Negociaciones de Paz a Tres Bandas” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 13, 2024).
- “el Cese al Fuego No Es un Permiso para Cometer Delitos”: Comisionado a Eln y Emc (El Espectador (Colombia), Monday, February 12, 2024).
Peace talks officially launched between the government and the Segunda Marquetalia ex-FARC dissident network. Nominally headed by Iván Márquez, the FARC’s chief negotiator for the 2016 peace accord who rearmed in 2019, the Segunda Marquetalia is mainly active in Putumayo and Nariño departments in southwest Colombia.
This is the only negotiation with a group led by people who had already agreed to an earlier peace accord. Along with the ELN and EMC, the Petro government is now in active peace talks with three national groups.
- Camilo A. Castillo, “El Reto Que Supone para el Gobierno Adelantar Tres Procesos de Paz Simultaneos” (El Tiempo (Colombia), February 11, 2024).
- Andres Felipe Balaguera Sarmiento, Gobierno Anuncia Inicio de Proceso de Paz Con Segunda Marquetalia de ‘Ivan Marquez’ (El Tiempo (Colombia), Friday, February 9, 2024).
- Santiago Torrado, Colombia Abre una Nueva Mesa de Dialogo Con las Disidencias de las Farc Encabezadas por Ivan Marquez (El Pais (Spain), Friday, February 9, 2024).
Representatives of the 15 UN Security Council member states visited Colombia on February 7-11. The Council is considering expanding the scope of the UN Verification Mission’s mandate to include the Petro government’s new peace negotiations with additional armed groups; the U.S. government has been reluctant to approve a quick mandate expansion. In a press conference with Council members, President Petro acknowledged that aspects of the 2016 peace accord’s implementation, like land distribution, are running behind.
- Filip Timotija, Pleno del Consejo de Seguridad de la Onu Entrego Balance Sobre su Visita a Colombia (El Tiempo (Colombia), Thursday, February 22, 2024).
- “Claves de la Rueda de Prensa del Consejo de Seguridad de Onu Con Presidente Petro” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 8, 2024).
- Santiago Rodriguez Alvarez, “Visita del Consejo de Seguridad Enfrenta a la Paz Firmada y la Paz Total” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), February 7, 2024).
- Aterrizo en Colombia el Consejo de Seguridad de Onu: ¿por Que Es Clave su Visita? (El Espectador (Colombia), Wednesday, February 7, 2024).
During their visit, UN diplomats traveled to Buenaventura and Cartagena, and to the former FARC demobilization and reincorporation site in La Montañita, Caquetá, which is now a fair-sized rural town.
- Julian Rios Monroy, “La Historia de Agua Bonita, el Poblado Exfarc Que Visito Consejo de Seguridad de Onu” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 12, 2024).
- Cindy A. Morales Castillo, “Las ‘Jugadas’ de Paz de Petro Durante la Visita del Consejo de Seguridad de la Onu” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 11, 2024).
- Asi Fue la Visita del Consejo de Seguridad de Onu a Poblado de Ex-Farc en Caqueta (El Espectador (Colombia), Saturday, February 10, 2024).
Twenty-four of these reincorporation sites, in thirteen departments, continue to exist. As of October 31, the government recognized 11,269 people as ex-FARC, down from 13,394 in 2020, according to El Espectador.
- “Alistan $400.000 Millones para Cirugia a Procesos de Ubicacion Territorial de Exfarc” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 9, 2024).
Colombia’s Human Rights Ombudsman’s office noted that the Petro government has increased budgets and resources for implementing the 2016 peace accord, especially its provisions on land and rural reform. In a new monitoring report, though, the Office voiced strong concern about how these resources are being allocated, and about armed groups’ continuing power to undermine people’s access to land, especially when landholders are women.
Of the Territorially Focused Development Programs (PDET), a big peace accord commitment to bring state services to long-abandoned areas, less than 50 percent have even been launched, 7 years after accord implementation began.
- ““a la Paz Le Asignaron Recursos Importantes para Garantizarle su Consolidacion en el Pais, Pero No Hay Mayores Avances”” (Defensoria del Pueblo (Government of Colombia), February 20, 2024).
Former FARC leaders sent an angry letter to President Petro complaining that the post-conflict transitional justice tribunal currently trying their war crimes cases is “moving away from the spirit and letter of the peace accord.” They are upset that the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), in their view, is resolving cases separately instead of all together, moving slow on amnesties for political crimes, and focusing too much on mid-level ex-commanders. The JEP appeared to resolve the amnesty issue on February 21.
- Jep Renueva los Decretos de Amnistia a Firmantes de Paz: Estas Eran las Fallas (El Espectador (Colombia), Wednesday, February 21, 2024).
- Santiago Luque Perez, Que Es la Amnistia de Iure y por Que la Jep se la Aplico a Mas de 9.600 Firmantes (Revista Cambio (Colombia), Wednesday, February 21, 2024).
- Nueva Carta de Exsecretariado de las Farc Dice Que la Jep se Esta “Descarrilando” (El Espectador (Colombia), Monday, February 19, 2024).
- Cindy A. Morales Castillo, “Dura Carta del Exsecretariado de Farc a Petro: Advierten Que se Apartarian de Jep” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 7, 2024).
- Jep Responde a Secretariado de las Farc: “No Les Corresponde Emitir Ordenes” (El Espectador (Colombia), Wednesday, February 7, 2024).
68 bills before Colombia’s Congress whose passage is necessary to comply with 2016 peace accord commitments are in danger of failing because they must be approved in the legislative session that ends on June 20, according to the Bogotá-based Ideas for Peace Foundation (FIP).
- Cindy A. Morales Castillo, “Los 68 Proyectos Clave para el Acuerdo de Paz Con Riesgo de Hundirse en el Congreso” (El Espectador (Colombia), February 16, 2024).
- Camilo A. Castillo, Hay 68 Proyectos Ligados al Acuerdo de Paz en Riesgo de Hundirse en el Congreso (El Tiempo (Colombia), Thursday, February 22, 2024).
A FIP report found that Colombia’s armed groups increased their strength and reach in 2023, even as some negotiated with the government and some humanitarian indicators improved. “Disputes between the groups for territorial control increased 54% in 2023. Total armed actions by the groups also increased 11%. Disputed zones between groups increased from five to nine,” said FIP Director María Victoria Llorente.
FIP cited data from Colombia’s security forces pointing to an increase in the combined membership of the ELN, ex-FARC dissidents, and the Gulf Clan in 2023: from about 15,000 to about 16,700.
- Andres Cajiao v., Andres Preciado R., Maria Victoria Llorente, “Paz Total: Los Grupos Armados Ganan Con Cara y Con Sello” (Fundacion Ideas por la Paz (Colombia), February 13, 2024).
- Maria Victoria Llorente, “‘Paz Total’: Los Grupos Armados Ganan Con Cara y Con Sello” (Fundación Ideas para la Paz (Colombia), El Tiempo (Colombia), February 13, 2024).
- Daniel Pacheco, Santiago Rodriguez Alvarez, ““la Expansion de los Grupos Armados Baja los Incentivos para la Paz”: Fip” (La Silla Vacia (Colombia), February 14, 2024).