A few days after the resumption of the peace talks between the national government and the ELN, they have once again sparked certain controversies due to pronouncements by some of the guerrilla leaders, in addition to those who represent the State. This is why Otty Patiño, the table’s chief negotiator, has come out to explain some of the accusations. Among the details that he has gradually revealed, he assured that the National Liberation Army does not want a peace agreement like the one signed with the extinct FARC.
February 13 would be the start of the second negotiation cycle, and since the last time they sat down, both sides have taken certain events or statements as an attack on the negotiations. Just to mention a reference, the controversy with the president’s brother, Nicolás Petro, made the ELN consider Total Peace to be similar to the Ralito Pact:
“This fact leaves elements to question, one of them is the similarities between Total Peace and the Ralito Pact, through which the Uribe government tried to give political status to the narco-paramilitaries, where large drug lords also slipped , then,” the guerrillas said in a statement.
Well, all this was questioned by José Otty Patiño. The chief negotiator agrees with the subversives in the sense of abandonment, which should be effective until control is achieved in the regions where the guerrillas have influence.
However, it makes it clear that the country cannot be completely changed at the table, which is why the ELN wishes to enter politics. In an interview with Caracol Radio, Patiño assured that the guerrillas do not want a process like the one signed with the extinct FARC:
“It is probable that there is this discomfort, they have manifested it but they have been told that there is differential treatment as is obvious, by appointing a Commission representative of many sectors of national life (…) The ELN in the voice of Antonio García does not want to repeat the process with the Farc, they want to make a difference, not only with the other illegal armed groups that manage some parts of the territory, but even with the peace process with the Farc, where one of the elements was the exercise of politics through of seats in Congress”.
Regions for Total Peace
The Ministry of the Interior delivered the plan for the mobilizations of the guerrillas to take place, when the negotiations are more advanced and these subversives begin the disarmament plan. The project prepared in conjunction with the National Federation of Departments delimited 6 regions: Central East, Central South, Caribbean Coast, Coffee Region, Eastern Plains and Pacific.
Although the initiative was being considered since last year, there would already be more specific scenarios to advance in these regions, and thus begin to manage the institutional offer for those who arrive there.
The project would comply with Total Peace Law 2272 of November 4, 2022, which contemplates temporary locations for the spokespersons of the armed groups that sign agreements with the State:
“In those areas, which cannot be located in urban areas, the normal and full use of the rule of law must be guaranteed. The Government will define the way in which public institutions will function (…) Priority will be given to municipalities categorized as ZOMAC, communities of influence or areas vulnerable to the civilian population and the territory and in those in which there is an absence or weak presence of the State”, details the regulations. with Infobae