Colombia, ELN rebels to resume peace talks in Venezuela

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Colombia's government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group members will meet in Venezuela on Friday to revive stalled peace negotiations.

"We hope that this process will be unblocked now in the talks to be held on November 1," Colombia's Peace Commissioner Advisor Otty Patino told Spanish news agency EFE.

Patino also expressed optimism that the ELN would view territorial peace initiatives more favorably.

The ELN delegation is ready to sit down again with the Colombian government and will participate in peace negotiations in Venezuela, according to local media reports.

The talks have been suspended since a Sept. 17 attack on an army base in Arauca, near the Venezuelan border, which killed three soldiers and wounded over 30 others. The parties have not held formal discussions since May, while a bilateral cease-fire expired on Aug. 3.

The Marxist-Leninist rebel group, which has operated in Colombia since 1964 and maintains positions along Venezuela's western border, had previously expressed anger over government peace talks with the Comuneros del Sur, an alleged ELN dissident group.

With Venezuela acting as guarantor and host, both sides resumed peace talks on Nov. 22, 2022, in Caracas, after a suspension that began in 2019.

The third round of peace talks, which started on May 2, 2023, in Havana, Cuba, concluded with the signing of a six-month temporary cease-fire.