The Colombian guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN) expressed the illegal armed group’s willingness to resume peace talks, whether with the current government or with the administration elected next year, in an announcement made public this morning by the Reuters news agency.
The group’s top commander, known as Antonio Garcia, said ELN’s interest is to continue what was previously agreed, under the premise of institutional respect: “There cannot be a clean slate,” he stressed, emphasizing that the agreements are with the state, not with a particular government.
This gesture of apparent openness comes at a delicate moment: Negotiations had been interrupted in January of this year by President Gustavo Petro, after a surge of violence in the country’s northeast attributed to ELN, which left a devastating humanitarian toll, with numerous deaths and massive population displacement.
The truth is that with an election calendar approaching and the current administration’s term coming to an end — less than eight months remaining — the feasibility of resuming a stable round of talks under the current government seems very limited.
ELN says it is now willing to make peace with the current or next Colombian Government
This Wednesday morning, Dec. 10, the ELN’s announcement surprised many, as it expressed its willingness to resume talks that were abruptly interrupted in January 2019, during President Ivan Duque’s administration — after a brutal attack by the armed group on a military school in Bogota — and again this January by the current Petro government, following the military escalation in Catatumbo.
“ELN has always maintained its willingness toward peace, as well as to restoring talks with the current government, but within a vision of respect, responsibility, and fulfillment of what was agreed,” said Eliecer Herlinto Chamorro, known as Antonio Garcia, the illegal armed group’s top commander, in response to a Reuters questionnaire from hiding.
“It cannot be a clean slate. We understand that what was agreed is not with a government, but with the state, because we know how complex it has been. It is in our interest that progress made can be continued,” he explained.
According to Antonio Garcia, ELN’s willingness to dialogue remains intact. Its offer does not start from scratch: The guerrilla group defends agreements reached in previous stages, which included civil society participation, humanitarian actions, social investment, and regional development.
Garcia says that those agreements must be resumed, and that peace does not depend solely on disarmament or demobilization: For them, it is a profound transformation that addresses poverty, inequality, and access to education, health care, housing, and productive opportunities in areas most affected by decades of conflict.
Just last week, President Petro once again reached out to the armed group to restart talks. “To ELN I say, brothers and sisters, because here we are all siblings, human beings: Make peace now,” the president said at a public event.
Doubts about the feasibility of dialogue in Colombia today
Despite that offer, the current context raises serious doubts about the possibility of resuming negotiations immediately. Petro’s government is entering its final stretch — less than eight months in office — leaving little room to consolidate a peace round with credible timelines.
Official interlocutors have previously warned that any resumption of dialogue must be accompanied by clear signs of a halt to hostilities, the release of hostages, the dismantling of criminal networks, and security guarantees for communities. So far, those points have not been agreed upon, weakening trust.
Furthermore, ELN’s structure, historically criticized for its diffuse command and mixture of illicit activities used to finance itself, increases distrust among political and social sectors. Although its leaders claim internal unity and consistency in their discourse, repeated lapses into violence have undermined their credibility.
In this context, many analysts agree that a real negotiation with a chance of success will likely fall beyond the reach of the current government and will depend largely on the next president.
Looking ahead to the 2026 elections, ELN’s offer adds a relevant element to the debate on security and peace. The announcement leaves in the hands of the electorate and the future government the decision of whether it is worthwhile to resume the talks. If the new administration decides to accept the invitation, it will face the task of rebuilding trust, establishing real guarantees for the population, and achieving a sustainable agreement.
“Regardless of the government that arrives, we must continue the effort to advance in what has been agreed so far,” the ELN leader told Reuters. “Everything done at the table has been public knowledge; there is nothing hidden, and the more society participates, the better,” he concluded.
ELN’s tortuous path to peace
During more than six decades of armed conflict in Colombia, multiple attempts — with varying results — have been made to negotiate peace between the state and ELN. The fact is that the confederal organization of this illegal armed group has historically been the main obstacle to the ultimate success of talks that have always ended in resounding failure.
One of the first formal processes dates back to the early 1990s, with negotiations in Caracas and Tlaxcala (Mexico), followed by an agreement in Madrid in 1998 and contacts in Cuba until 2000. Later, during President Alvaro Uribe’s administrations (2002–2010) and the following years, dialogue with ELN never succeeded in achieving lasting peace, due to persistent armed actions by the guerrilla group.
A new push arrived after the historic peace agreement with FARC in 2016, when the state sought to extend reconciliation to ELN. Exploratory talks advanced, though without immediate success and always separate from the peace table with the former FARC. President Duque, who inherited the peace table with ELN, ended the dialogue after the brutal January 2019 attack in Bogota that left several soldiers dead.
With the arrival of Gustavo Petro’s government in 2022, negotiations were relaunched under the promise of a “total peace.” In August 2023, a temporary bilateral ceasefire was achieved, which in February 2024 was extended for 180 days.
However, that progress did not withstand the resumption of violence. The ceasefire expired in August 2024, and ELN resumed armed practices — kidnappings, attacks, and military offensives. The guerrilla group demanded financial compensation to secure its funding in exchange for abandoning kidnapping — a government demand — which sparked intense controversy in the country.
Finally, on Jan. 17 of this year, President Petro officially suspended the talks, after accusing ELN of war crimes in the Catatumbo region.