GPS News
WAR REPORT
Colombia scraps arrest warrant for ELN guerrilla leader
Colombia scraps arrest warrant for ELN guerrilla leader
by AFP Staff Writers
Bogota (AFP) June 5, 2023

Colombia's top prosecutor on Monday scrapped an arrest warrant for ELN guerrilla leader Antonio Garcia, who is leading talks with the government that seek to find a lasting peace to decades of conflict.

The warrant was cancelled at the request of President Gustavo Petro, said Attorney General Francisco Barbosa.

"We verified the legal system and consider that yes, it is possible to suspend the arrest warrant because... peace processes are under way," he said at a public event in Bogota.

Colombia's government and the National Liberation Army or ELN, the last recognized rebel group in the country, resumed formal peace talks in Venezuela in November for the first time since they were suspended in 2019.

Founded in 1964, the ELN has about 3,500 members and has taken part in failed negotiations with Colombia's last five presidents.

It is primarily active in the Pacific region and along the 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border with Venezuela.

Dialogue with the ELN started in 2016 under ex-president Juan Manuel Santos, who signed a peace treaty with the larger Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group that subsequently abandoned its weapons and created a political party.

But talks with the ELN were called off in 2019 by conservative former president Ivan Duque following a car bomb attack on a police academy in Bogota that left 22 people dead.

Garcia, a prominent member of the ELN decision-making body known as the central command, was wanted for the alleged forced recruitment of 71 minors and for alleged participation in the 2019 attack.

Petro, who last August became Colombia's first-ever leftist leader, reached out to the ELN shortly after coming to power in pursuit of his "total peace" policy.

Colombia has suffered more than half a century of armed conflict between the state and various groups of left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers.

An ELN ambush on a military convoy in March that left nine soldiers dead, had cast doubt over the future of the talks, which have continued nevertheless.

The ELN had also refuted an announcement by Petro on New Year's Eve that a ceasefire had been reached with the country's five largest armed groups, including itself.

Colombia has been gripped by violence despite the 2016 peace deal with the ELN, as fighting continues over territory and resources between dissident FARC guerrillas, the ELN, paramilitary forces and drug cartels.

Related Links
Space War News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WAR REPORT
Syrian top diplomat to meet Iraqi PM on visit to key ally
Baghdad (AFP) June 4, 2023
Syria's foreign minister has arrived in Iraq for a visit to its longtime ally and talks with its premier, at a time Damascus is emerging from years of diplomatic isolation. The visit by Faisal Mekdad comes weeks after the Arab League agreed to end Syria's suspension from the 22-member bloc, bringing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad back into the regional fold after years of civil war. Iraq remained an ally to Damascus throughout the wider Arab boycott, never severing relations and maintai ... read more

WAR REPORT
California's honey bees await the famous sunshine

Strawberry boycott leaves Spain's farmers in a jam

How chocolate could counter climate change

US advances trade dispute with Mexico over anti-GMO policy

WAR REPORT
'Heat highways' could keep electronics cool

Taiwanese chip giant TSMC says industry could have 'stabilising' effect

Spintronics at BESSY II: Domain walls in magnetic nanowires

France announces massive state aid to chips factory

WAR REPORT
NATO plans record German-led air force exercise

Germany tells China to stop poaching ex-air force pilots

Wayward US plane's pilot was slumped over, apparently unconscious: report

NASA grant funds aeroacoustic research to develop quieter vertical lift air vehicles

WAR REPORT
Musk, China industry minister hold talks on 'new energy vehicles': ministry

Tesla's Musk hails China's 'vitality' on Beijing visit

Elon Musk says wants to expand China business in FM meeting

China auto giant BYD denies claims its cars failed emissions test

WAR REPORT
Sunak lauds UK defence chief amid NATO speculation

Stocks mixed as China data points to more weakness

Blinken eyes trip to China as tensions ease

Asian markets struggle to kick on after rally, with eyes on Fed

WAR REPORT
Lula leads tributes on anniversary of Amazon double murder

In Ecuador biosphere, battle lines form over mining plans

Widow urges care for Amazon on anniversary of double murder

In Costa Rica, climate change threatens 'cloud forest'

WAR REPORT
Pixxel raises $36M for hyperspectral satellite constellation

WMO: tracking the world's weather and climate

WMO: tracking the world's weather and climate

Register for ESA's first Earth observation commercialisation event

WAR REPORT
Single-molecule valve: a breakthrough in nanoscale control

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.