The outgoing government squandered the opportunity with the ELN to advance on the path to peace with social justice, with the active participation of society. It brazenly broke agreements and reverted to the old narrative of demobilization and disarmament, ultimately favoring both new and old paramilitarism and perpetuating counterinsurgency plans.
Today, we are going through a dark moment in Colombia’s history, with a new president who claims to be a follower of Donald Trump, the most sinister president the US has ever had. He insults and threatens to replicate in the country the atrocities and disasters perpetrated by his idol, in order to instill fear and paralyze free expression and citizen mobilization.
Of the 41 million Colombians eligible to vote, more than 15 million abstained, and nearly 13 million—almost the same number who voted for De la Espriella—reject the aggression, the plundering, and the subordination to a foreign power, as these are unacceptable policies for a democratic and sovereign nation.
As can be seen, many more than half of the voters aspire to a democratic and just country, one that overcomes the limitations of the outgoing government and will confront the right wing’s resistance to change.
Millions continue the struggle for a social order that grants dignity to the majority, a non-mafia-controlled economy that serves the people and does not destroy Mother Earth, a truly democratic political system, and a sovereign nation that relates to the rest of the world on equal terms. This is the peace with social justice for which the Colombian people will continue to fight.
On this 62nd anniversary of the ELN’s founding, we reaffirm that we are and will always be “Always with the People” and at their service, and we join the torrent of popular and democratic forces that will fight against the threats repeatedly issued by the president who will take office on August 7th.
We stand for a New Country and, to pave the way for peace, we call upon all social and political forces to build a National Agreement to guide the mobilization and the struggle to stop Trump’s infamous plans against Colombia, which the new president has announced he will implement. Peace is a strategic objective for the ELN, not as surrender or submission, but as the result of agreements between the warring parties.
Colombia… for the workers!
Not one step back… liberation or death!
National Directorate
National Liberation Army
Mountains of Colombia
July 4, 2026
Source: https://eln-voces.net/2026/07/06/la-mayoria-de-colombianos-estamos-por-justicia-social-y-soberania/