The peace dialogue roundtable between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army will move to Cuba in early 2024, and the fifth cycle will end in Mexico City with “solid” progress towards peace, as the guerrillas’ commitment to stop kidnapping for economic purposes.

“Today is my turn and I am proud and honored to bring good news to Colombia. After critical moments in this process, we are moving forward firmly to the world“said the new chief negotiator of the Colombian government with the ELN guerrillas, Vera Grabe, at the closing ceremony of the new round of negotiations.

Late last month, the peace delegation of the Colombian government announced that representatives of both teams would meet to devote their efforts to overcoming the crisis that is currently undergoing a process of dialogue caused by kidnapping of Mr. Luis Manuel Diaz“, the father of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz, who spent 12 days in the hands of ANO.

Grabe argued that “crises, when taken advantage of, strengthen us, they become possible,” while arguing that now achieving peace is a “revolutionary” act.

In this sense, he noted that the most important statement for peace in Colombia is the fact that the ELN suspended what they called “withholding for economic purposes”associated with the extension of the fire from January 2024.

They also agreed to reaffirm their commitment to the peace process, creating conditions for extending the ceasefire, and the economic and financial conditions for implementing the agreement with Mexico.

It was also decided to resume the community participation process, complete its design phase in April next year and create a national participation network and form eight critical areas of humanitarian action and a Council committee to co-ordinate plans for care and social change in these areas.

For his part, the head of the ANO delegation nicknamed ‘Pablo Beltrán stated that the guerrillas and the government of Colombia have the same goal: peace.

“We are partners, we are responsible for the implementation of this mandate,” he emphasized at the same event.

For this reason, he stated that the celebration Peaceful dialogues They are a contribution to changing the culture of confrontation and seeking reconciliation in the Andean country.

This may interest you > Video | It was an emotional reunion between Luis Diaz and his father, who was kidnapped for 12 days.

However, he stated that it is difficult to move forward in peace building when There are media wars and people forget about progress, focusing only on conflicts and tensions.

(EFE)