A six-month ceasefire between Colombia’s government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group began on Thursday.
The ceasefire, set to run until the end of January 2024, is the product of ongoing peace talks between the ELN and the government, which restarted last year in hopes of ending the conflict and changing the priorities of the Colombia state to focus on the people, rather than elite interests.
Top ELN commander Eliecer Herlinto Chamorro – better known by his nom de guerre Antonio Garcia – ordered the suspension of offensive operations in a video on Monday but said the group would continue to defend itself during the ceasefire if needed.
But ELN leader Aureliano Carbonell told journalists on Thursday the group’s financing activities will not stop. “Financing activities continue,” Carbonell said. “This process cannot weaken the organization.”
Last month the government announced plans for negotiations with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) – a dissident faction of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels who rejected a 2016 peace agreement – but gave no date for talks to start.
Though peace commissioner Rueda in February said the government would also start talks with the Segunda Marquetalia, a FARC dissident faction that returned to arms after accusing the state of not honoring the 2016 accord, there has been no confirmation of potential negotiations.