FARC dissident declares unilateral ceasefire after cycle of dialogue with Colombian government

The first round of peace talks between the Colombian government and the Second Marquetalia, an armed group of dissidents from the now defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, concluded on Saturday in Caracas with the organization declaring a unilateral ceasefire.

The document signed by the parties and published last night on the official website of the Peace Commission indicates that the Second Marquetalia “undertakes not to remain armed or uniformed in municipal capitals and urban centers or on land or river routes.”

Furthermore, it is committed to handing over the detained people and respecting the civilian population.

“This unilateral ceasefire does not imply limiting the constitutional and legal powers of the Public Force,” the letter clarifies.

These are part of the early measures to ease the conflict agreed upon after six days of meetings in the Venezuelan capital. In addition, the foundations were laid for the operation of the negotiating table and the handling of controversies.

A technical commission will also be formed to georeference the areas where the Second Marquetalia is present and meetings will be held with the communities involved, the document added.

The success of the talks with these dissidents will depend on “concrete results for the population,” Elizabeth Dickinson, an expert with the nonprofit International Crisis Group, told AP. The government must learn from other processes because “what has happened is that we have made progress on paper,” but violence remains a reality.

The negotiation table has guarantor countries such as Norway, Cuba and Venezuela, and the support of the United Nations and the Episcopal Conference of Colombia.

The Second Marquetalia is made up of dissidents from the now defunct FARC who took up arms again after abandoning the pact signed with the Colombian State in 2016, during the presidency of Juan Manuel Santos. It is led by Luciano Marín Arango, alias “Iván Márquez”. According to official figures, some 1,788 men are part of its ranks.

According to Dickinson, the negotiation with these dissidents has special relevance for the areas where they have a presence, such as in the department of Putumayo, in southern Colombia, where the Border Command that is part of that organization has “almost total control.” .

“It is worth trying to reduce the damage the group has done to the population,” he added.

The negotiation with the Second Marquetalia is added to that of the Central General Staff, also of the dissidents of the disappeared FARC, and the active guerrilla of the National Liberation Army.

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