The armed organization Army of National Liberation (ELN, Guevarists) warned on Monday that the peace negotiations with the government of Colombia are in a “crisis”, due to recent statements made by the country’s president, Gustavo Petros.

“Peace negotiations cannot be subject to the fluctuations of the president’s public positions,” the leadership of the organization – officially the last one to continue the armed struggle in the Latin American country – emphasized in a statement. “Negotiations have reached a crisis and clarity is needed from the government so that the path to peace is clear and we can speak in plain language to the country and the world,” the text continues.

Among other things, Mr. Petros questioned a few days ago in his public position whether the leadership of the ELN is united, while he emphasized that he has ordered the country’s army to target illegal activities such as drug trafficking, a source of funding for armed organizations operating in Colombia.

The peace negotiations began at the initiative of Mr. Petro, a social democratic politician, the first belonging to the left in the history of Colombia, last year in Caracas, they continued in Mexico and their third round has been underway since the beginning of May in Havana, in which the parties have announced that they will mutually negotiate a ceasefire.

Responding to the ELN’s announcement, the government said it considers it “imperative for us to give answers to the communities [σ.σ. που πλήττονται από τον πόλεμο] and to ensure (…) a suspension of hostilities by all parties to the armed conflict, protection measures for civilians and the participation of civil society as a key pillar’ in the process.

All past attempts to negotiate between Colombian governments and the ELN have failed, in part because the organization is decentralized and there are divisions within its ranks.