In a succinct message posted on his social media account, Petro wrote that his statement is a response to Pablo Beltran, second-in-command of the guerrilla group and head of the negotiating team in the process.

“Try peace for Colombia. It’s not necessary to destroy an entire city and kill 70,000 people to carry out a humanitarian exchange,” the president wrote, apparently alluding to the effects of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Despite negotiations since 2023, talks between the government and the armed group broke down for the second time in four months on January 17 when the group engaged in combat with the so-called 33rd Front, a remnant of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army.

This situation forced more than 70,000 people in the Catatumbo region, in the southwest, to flee their homes and left at least 100 dead, according to the Ombudsman’s Office.

At the time, Petro described the ELN’s actions in Catatumbo as war crimes and the reason for the breakdown in the talks. For its part, the guerrilla group claimed that it did not kill civilians, but rather executed people who contributed to the rival group.

Despite the president’s decision last January, negotiations between the government and the ELN had already been experiencing setbacks since May 2024, and due to disagreements, it was not possible to extend the ceasefire that expired in August of the previous year.

jdt/rc/ifs