Prosecutor’s Office suspends arrest warrants against 17 ELN members ahead of negotiations

Founded in 1964, after the establishment of the Cuban Revolution on the Caribbean island, the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla is considered the most powerful insurgent organization in Colombia today.

Due to this, various governments have tried to establish peace with the armed group, but many attempts have ended in failure due to mutual non-compliance or changes of governments that made it difficult for the talks to take place.

The most recent attempt to achieve peace in the country between both sides was established in 2016 during the mandate of President Juan Manuel Santos but this was lifted, without any agreement, in January 2019 after an attack was registered in the General Santander Police School.

The coming to power of President Gustavo Petro, the first leftist leader to become president of Colombia, has opened up hope for peace. In October 2022, in Caracas-Venezuela, the head of state and leaders of the armed group announced that they would resume talks that seek to end the conflict.

On November 17, during the acts to commemorate the anniversary of the Colombian Air Force, President Gustavo Petro announced that Otty Patiño would be the representative of the Colombian State in the talks that will begin on November 21 in Caracas.

At the moment, the EFE news agency and the Colombian media maintain that Patiño would be the head of the government delegation at the dialogue table. On the other hand, he anticipates that María José Pizarro and Iván Cepeda, both senators of the Colombian Parliament, will also be there, although the Executive has the final word.

Danilo Rueda, the Colombian High Commissioner for Peace, reported days ago that the process of resuming talks is advancing as planned and that it could be between November 18 and 20 when the rest of the team members are determined. government negotiator.

Who is Otty Patiño and with whom will he be negotiating?

Otty Patiño is a well-known Colombian writer and political scientist with experience in peace negotiations. In his past, he was part of the negotiators who entered into talks with two presidents when he joined, along with President Petro, the M-19 guerrilla that reached a peace agreement with the State.

Likewise, the Colombian newspaper ‘El Tiempo’ adds that Patillo has studies in conflict processes and has been a professor at various universities in his country.

On the political level, he was a delegate to the Constituent Assembly of 1991, where he was part of the First Commission, which was responsible for discussing everything related to rights and guarantees.

Patiño could start peace talks with Israel Ramírez Pineda, better known by his alias ‘Pablo Beltrán’. According to the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation (Pares), a think tank that monitors the armed conflict, Beltrán, second commander of the ELN, participated in the previous process that began in Quito, Ecuador, in 2017.

Colombian Prosecutor’s Office suspends arrest warrants in support of the peace process

Within the framework of the proximity of the peace process, the Colombian prosecutor’s office announced that it issued a resolution that suspends the capture and extradition of 17 members of the ELN guerrilla, so that they can act as representatives of the armed group at the negotiating table.

According to a statement, the measure covers Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista, Pablo Beltrán, Aureliano Carbonell, Bernardo Téllez, Gustavo Martínez, Consuelo Tapias, Silvana Guerrero, Isabel Torres, Óscar Serrano, Vivian Henao, Ricardo Pérez, Cataleya Jiménez, Eduin Restrepo, Américo Trespalacios, Manuela Márquez, Mauricio Iguarán and Simón Babón.

The news about the start of the resumption of the talks to find peace comes one day after the ELN reported the release of two Colombian soldiers who were under their orders.

“Our officials from the Arauca Region reached the Araucanian foothills, in the jurisdictions of the Tame and Fortul municipalities, to facilitate the return of Fernando Urrego Rayo, who had been in the hands of the illegal armed group since November 1, and Luifer Aldey Mejía , (kidnapped) since 3″, reported the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, quoted in a statement from his office.

With EFE, Reuters and local media