Colombia, Venezuela restart peace talks

The Colombian government and the National Liberation Army ELN announced on Tuesday the restart of peace negotiations after a three-year hiatus.

The announcement was made at a joint press conference of the top ELN leadership and a team of negotiators representing the Colombian government in Caracas, Venezuela.

Venezuela is one of the guarantor countries in the negotiation process, which was started over six years ago but stopped in 2019 by former Colombian president Ivan Duque.

Since taking office in August, his successor, Gustavo Petro, has made restarting peace negotiations a priority in his government.

In the last month, Colombia and Venezuela reestablished diplomatic relations after more than two years, aiming to resume talks with guerrilla forces that control large parts of territory along the Colombian and Venezuelan border.

The ELN is one of the largest guerrilla forces still active in the region. Born in the 1960s as a Marxist insurgent force, the group finances its activities through kidnapping, extortion and involvement in the narcotics trade.

The ELN has expanded operations in southern Venezuela, where it controls illegal mining operations.