In a video published by Nariño Television, the ELN and the Pacific Guerrilla Coordinator, which belongs to the FARC dissident group called the Segunda Marquetalia, announce a “unity and coordination agreement” in the department of Nariño. This join coordination agreement amongst the two main guerrilla structures mauy prove extraordinarily important in the ongoing peace negotations with the state.
Similar steps have already been taken on other fronts in the country: a strategic military initiative to repel advancing far right paramilitaries for example.
The affected province has been swept by a new wave of violence since the end of last year. Military offensives by the state, attempted advances by right wing paramilitaries, and infighting between FARC structures have hit the ELN base area in Nariño.
The ELN, which has been existence for almost six decades, is far stronger than the FARC-EP faction, which rearmed itself asfter the disastrous 2016 peace agreement with the state. The Segundo Marquetalia is one of the two organizations claiming the true legacy of the FARC.
While the ELN is in negotiations with ;eftist President Petro’s government, the Segundo Marquetalia is still far from a ceasefire. However, the truce and negotiations do not involve the guerrilla’s war against far right paramilitaries and drug traffickers.
They announced the “joint statement of the Pacific Guerrilla Coordinator, Segunda Marquetalia, and the Comunero Petún Front of the National Liberation Army…extend[ing] a fraternal revolutionary greeting to the Colombian people and the whole of the national proletarian.”
They further stated that:
Guided by our ideological principles of Marxist Leninism and by the deep love for the people, the two Political-Military Guerrilla Forces we announce that from the Department of Nariño we have reached an agreement of unity and coordination on the understanding that our historical roots as sister organizations have the same objective aimed at the solution of the serious social problem that affect the Colombian people. We cannot forget that 59 years ago the conservative government of Guillermo León Valencia in 1962-1966 influenced by Nazi ideology launched an annihilation campaign against the republic with extreme massacres and, leading to the dispossession of land from peasants who demanded better communication routes, schools and health. Faced with this state repression, an armed peasant resistance in Marquetalia emerged in response on May 27, 1964. South of Tolima, led by the unforgettable commander Manuel Marulán Tabelés and Jacob Arenas in the company of 46 peasants revolutionaries they created the legacy of the guerrilla struggle, and throughout these almost 60 years we have followed and continued the second Marquetalia.
The 60 year guerrilla war in Colombia is undergoing major turns today, after seemingly being deadlocked for an eternity. Colombia’s first leftist president is bringing new dynamics to the conflict with engagement and dialouge, so this alliance may have a substantial effect going forward.