Colombian President Gustavo Petro Suspends Orders to Arrest & Extradite ELN Leaders

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Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a former M-19 Guerrilla himself has called for peace talks with rebels and cartels, and decriminalization of the drug war.

Colombia's new president said Saturday he was suspending arrest warrants and extradition requests for members of the left-wing guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) in an effort to restart peace talks to end nearly 60 years of war.

The announcement is part of a principal campaign promise by newly elected Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 insurgency, who took office on Aug. 7 on pledges to bring "total peace" to the Andean country.

"I have authorized the reinstatement of the protocols, allowing negotiators to again reconnect with their organization, suspending arrest warrants for those negotiators, suspending extradition orders for those negotiators in order to start a dialogue with the National Liberation Army," Petro said. "This resolution initiates a new possibility of a peace process in Colombia," Petro said after attending a security council meeting in the province of Bolivar.

Representatives of the ELN, which was founded in 1964 by radical Catholic priests, have remained in Cuba since previous talks, begun under the government of Juan Manuel Santos, were called off in 2019. The group said soon after Petro's election that it was willing to consider negotiations. ELN is a Colombian guerrilla group officially designated as a foreign terrorist organization Oct. 8, 1997. It continues to operate as one of the largest narco-terrorism organizations in the world.

Petro has said a visit to Cuba this month by Colombian and international officials was meant to tease out whether the ELN, which is seen as radical and not centrally-controlled, truly is willing to pursue a peace process. Colombia's high peace commissioner Danilo Rueda traveled to Cuba with Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva, Senator Ivan Cepeda, and U.N. official Carlos Ruiz Massieu, as well as a representative of the Norwegian government. Rueda has the authority to explore the possibility of talks as well examine whether ceasefires and other measures could be established, Petro has said.

Discussions could begin where the Santos' administration left off, the Colombian president said, adding he would recognize the protocols agreed with help from guarantors Cuba, Chile, Venezuela, Norway and Brazil. Talks between the ELN and the Santos government began in Ecuador, later moving to Cuba, but were called off by Santos' successor Ivan Duque because the ELN refused to halt hostilities and killed 22 police cadets in a Bogota bomb attack.

Recent Violence Between ELN & Clan del Golfo

Previous attempts at negotiations with the ELN, which has some 2,400 combatants and is accused of financing itself through drug trafficking, illegal mining and kidnapping, have not advanced partly because of dissent within its ranks. Much of the ELN leadership in Cuba is older than many of its members and it is unclear how much sway they hold over units operating deep in Colombia's countryside.

Armed confrontations between two of Colombia's most prominent criminal groups have broken a three-year period of relative calm in the northern department of Bolívar, despite both groups expressing an openness to possible peace talks with the national government.

More than 600 families have been forced to flee their homes in Bolívar since the beginning of August, following the outbreak of clashes between the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional - ELN) and the Urabeños, also known as the Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo) and the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia - AGC).

The two groups are heavily involved in drug trafficking in Colombia and have long vied for control of territory and criminal economy.

Todd D. Robinson, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

US Narcotics Delegates Travel to Colombia

Delegates from the US government of President Joe Biden traveled to the country starting August 21 and will stay until the next 25. During that time, they will hold meetings with senior officials of the national government to discuss different programs. Mainly, the delegation's interest will be in the cooperation of the United States and Colombia regarding the implementation of peace, including the protection of the environment, security, rural development, human rights, anti-narcotics agenda and transnational crime.

“Following Secretary Nuland's February announcement of $8 million for human rights-related policing initiatives, Deputy Secretary Robinson will launch two $3.85 billion of INL-backed deals to strengthen institutional human rights policies and establish a police standards center in the Colombian National Police,” the State Department said.

The delegation will seek to maintain the ties of collaboration between both nations under the administration of Gustavo Petro, including the announcement of progress regarding partnerships with the Pan American Foundation for Development and the Colombia Plan.

Sources Reuters, Infobae, Insight Crime