Colombia, ELN Rebels Sign Six-Month Ceasefire

Facts

• On Friday, Colombia's government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) — its largest remaining rebel group — signed a six-month ceasefire to end nearly 60 years of armed conflict.¹
• The truce, which will go into effect on August 3, reportedly calls for forming a national committee by late July to discuss a lasting peace.²
• The warring sides, the UN, and civil society are expected to monitor ceasefire compliance. This is only the second truce between Bogotá and the ELN in the conflict, with the first — agreed in 2017 — falling apart ahead of its extension in January 2018³
• Talks — stalled since the deadly 2019 car bombing of a police academy in Bogotá — resumed after Colombia's first leftist president took office last August and called for demobilizing rebel groups and drug cartels to solve the decades-long conflict.⁴
• The ELN, founded in 1964 by students inspired by the Cuban revolution and Catholic priests linked to liberation theology, is often accused of funding its activities through kidnapping and extortion.⁵
• Considered a terrorist organization by the US and the EU, one of the oldest and largest guerrilla groups reportedly operates a military force and is allegedly involved in the production and trafficking of cocaine.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Guardian, ³Colombia News, ⁴Independent, ⁵Bloomberg and ⁶CNN.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Peoples Dispatch. This long-awaited agreement is a step in the right direction to peace, reasserting the commitment of both the Colombian government and the ELN to solve the six-decade-long armed conflict plaguing the country. Unlike past peace processes, Petro's 'total peace' is likely to finally bring the armed insurgency to an end as it will not persecute the guerrillas after they demobilize and disarm.
• Right narrative, as provided by The City Paper Bogotá. It's no coincidence that this breakthrough comes shortly after leaked conversations between top Colombian officials suggested that drug cartels financially backed Petro ahead of the second round of voting last year, causing an institutional crisis that has marred his administration's credibility. The ceasefire is merely a political stunt to divert public attention.