Petro leaves it up to Cuba to host talks with ELN

Colombian President-elect Gustavo Petro on Friday left in Cuba’s hands the decision to continue to host peace talks with the National Liberation Army, which he hopes will resume after his inauguration on August 7.

The suspension of the negotiating table by Colombia, headed by outgoing President Ivan Duque in 2019, strained diplomatic relations with Cuba due to compliance with the protocols signed between the Colombian state and the guarantor states, which predicted that in the event of secession, the guerrilla leadership would have a few days to return to their camps.

Duque demanded that Cuba hand them over so that they could meet their debts with Colombian justice, but Cuba did not surrender, and kept itself in the protocols. In Colombia, Duque continued to fight the militants and demanded the cessation of terrorist acts and the release of the kidnapped as a condition of returning to the negotiating table. The reason for the breakdown of the talks was the attack by the ELN on a police school in Bogotá 22 people died.

“Cuba did not do well, because it turned it into a pretext to launch a diplomatic attack in that country,” Petro told the press after meeting in Bogota with ambassadors from Latin America and the Caribbean, including the diplomatic representative of Cuba. Javier Camanio Cairo.

Petro, who is close to becoming Colombia’s first left-wing president, noted that the same protocol allows negotiations to resume in Havana and invited other guarantor states such as Norway to decide whether to retain their role. He also indicated that he is aware of the willingness of other countries to assist in the peace process, such as Spain. and hot pepper.

The day before, Chile offered to host peace negotiations. However, Petro asserted that they have not yet made official progress on the proposal made by Chilean President Gabriel Boric to Colombia’s Vice President-elect, Francia Marquez, during a visit to his country.

It is about resuming the process that started in 2017 with then-Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018). It was in Quito, where the initial rounds of negotiations took place, during which a bilateral and temporary ceasefire was reached under the supervision of the United Nations. In May 2018, Cuba became the new venue for the dialogue, after Ecuador refused to continue as host.

Pietro, who in his youth was a member of the extinct guerrilla group M-19, said his first goal was to seek a new bilateral ceasefire with the ELN, which would “automatically reduce violence” on Colombian territory. However, the ELN is not the only armed group in Colombia, the Gulf clan continues, the most dangerous cartel in the country, the defection of the former FARC that did not comply with the peace agreement signed in 2016 with the Republic of British Columbia. condition.

“The bilateral ceasefire that I would like to see extended to other types of armed organizations that are spreading in the country is a good start because it will reduce the death toll,” Petro said, but cautioned that he would not seek to negotiate with the Gulf states. Clan politics but submission to justice.

In addition to seeking support for new rapprochements with armed groups, Petro called for greater regional integration at the meeting with ambassadors of countries such as Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Guatemala, Paraguay, Panama, Mexico, Haiti, Argentina, Peru, and Cuba. .

He emphasized that they are able to work in a coordinated manner to combat climate change, drug smuggling and cross-border crimes, as well as take a leap towards clean energy through a project promoted by state oil companies in each country.

Petro intends to open relations with Africa, strengthen ties with Europe, and maintain a good relationship with the United States. He called not to let the “growing global conflict with China and Russia become part of our territory. Latin America must always be a land of peace.”