The Colombian government announced Wednesday it has suspended peace negotiations with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group following a deadly attack on an army base that left two soldiers dead and more than two dozen injured.
The assault, which occurred Tuesday in a rural area of Colombia’s Arauca province near the Venezuelan border, involved explosives detonated in a truck at the military installation. Colombian authorities have attributed the attack to the ELN.
“Today the peace process is on hold. Its viability is severely diminished and its continuation can only go ahead with an unequivocal demonstration of peace by the ELN,” government negotiators stated on social media platform X.
This decision deals a significant blow to President Gustavo Petro’s flagship “total peace” policy, which aims to end the ELN’s involvement in Colombia’s six-decade-long internal armed conflict. Petro described the attack as one that “practically closes a peace process, with blood.”
The ELN has intensified attacks on military targets since August when it chose not to renew a ceasefire that had been in place since 2023. In response, Colombia’s military resumed operations against the rebel group.
The suspension of talks may lead to the reissuing of arrest warrants for top ELN commanders, who the government believes are currently based in Venezuela and Cuba.
This development marks a critical setback in Colombia’s efforts to achieve lasting peace with one of its longest-standing insurgent groups. The ELN, which has been active since the 1960s, has yet to release an official statement regarding the suspension of talks or the recent attack.
As Colombia grapples with this latest challenge to its peace process, the international community watches closely, recognizing the potential implications for regional stability and the ongoing efforts to address long-standing conflicts in Latin America.
