Colombia’s armed forces have resumed military operations against the rebel National Liberation Army (ELN) after a ceasefire deal expired, Columbia’s defense minister Iván Velásquez said on Monday.
The truce between the guerrilla group and the Colombian government ended on Saturday. It was not clear if it would be renewed, despite the two parties being in peace talks.
“Offensive operations are resumed. And that is the order of the general commander of the Armed Forces,” Defense Minister Velásquez said in a statement.
After the ceasefire ended, the ELN’s peace delegation accused the Colombian government of non-compliance with agreements signed during negotiations since the end of 2022. It said it would consider the renewal of a truce if the government removed the ELN from its official register of organized armed groups.
“This is a matter that can always be the subject of discussion,” Velásquez said when asked about ELN’s demands.
The ELN is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla insurgency group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict, which has existed in Colombia since 1964. The ELN advocates a composite communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism and liberation theology. In 2013, it was estimated that the ELN forces consisted of between 1,380 and 3,000 guerrillas. According to former ELN national directorate member Felipe Torres, one-fifth of ELN supporters have taken up arms. The ELN has been classified as a terrorist organization by the governments of Colombia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the European Union.
