The US reacts to the proposal that Maduro be a guarantor in the peace process with the ELN

US congressmen criticized and demonstrated their disagreement with the proposal that the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, be the guarantor in the peace process between the Colombian government and the ELN National Liberation Army.

At the end of a hearing on Venezuela on Thursday of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate, Republican senator Marco Rubio underlined the closeness to the madurismo that Petro’s victory implied, saying that it was evident that with the government of President Petro there would be more rapprochements with Maduro and lamented the possibility that he would be a mediator in the negotiations.

“We knew after those elections that we had a new administration in Colombia that was going to listen a little more to what the Maduro regime says. It is unfortunate, but hey, it is the decision of an elected president of a sovereign nation, it should not affect or have an impact of any kind on US policy regarding those groups that are terrorist groups,” Rubio said.

The senator also expressed fear of the problems that may arise in relations between Colombia and Venezuela, due to the Colombian government’s rapprochement with Maduro.

For his part, Robert (Bob) Menéndez, of the Democratic Party, stated on Thursday that the Maduro administration protects the group outside the law.

“The reality is that what Maduro is guaranteeing at this time is to give refuge to the ELN to carry out acts of terrorism against Colombia. I do not understand that position as something that is positive for Colombia,” assured the legislator.

“It is unfortunate that President Petro is giving a hug to what currently violates human rights. I don’t think he wants for Colombia what the people of Venezuela are suffering,” he added.

Thursday, US Deputy Secretary of State Brian Nicholswarned Thursday that the government of Nicolás Maduro is seriously mistaken if it considers that the patience of the United States is infinite, and reiterated that the Biden administration remains “firmly committed” to the restoration of democracy in Venezuela.

He also referred to the role of Venezuela as guarantor of the peace process between the Colombian government and the ELN.

Although he highlighted the efforts of the Colombian president to achieve total peace, he warned of the concern about the presence of guerrilla groups in Venezuelan territory.

“Obviously the presence of the ELN and other groups within the territory of Venezuela is worrying for this process,” said the undersecretary.

These reactions occurred in a hearing where the state of the United States’ relations with President Nicolás Maduro was presented.

The Republican representative for Florida María Elvira Salazar also criticized on Wednesday, through Twitter, the proposal towards the Venezuelan president.

“A terrorist asks an accomplice of terrorists to guarantee dialogue with terrorists in a country that sponsors terrorism. ¡The only thing guaranteed is more terror!” he wrote on Wednesday.

On September 13, the president of Colombia asked his Venezuelan counterpart to be a guarantor in the peace process with the ELN guerrillas. A few hours later, the president of Venezuela accepted the assignment.

The dialogues between the Government and the ELN began in 2017, in Quito, Ecuador, during the second term of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018). In 2018, they were transferred to Havana, where the ELN leaders are still present. But these were suspended, in 2019, under the mandate of former president Iván Duque, who after the ELN attack against a cadet school in Bogotá which left 22 dead and 68 wounded, ended the talks.

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