(Bogotá) The main dissident faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced on Sunday that it was leaving the peace negotiation table, citing “non-compliance” with the agreement with the government.
“As of today, we declare suspended the negotiations and the agenda agreed between the government” of leftist Gustavo Petro and the group known as “EMC-FARC” (for “Central Staff”) which rejected the historic 2016 agreement, they said in a statement.
In this text, they do not specify the nature of what they consider to be breaches of the agreement and only assert that the State’s “non-compliance” was “total” and that the government “continues to favor a militaristic vision”, with operations in territories where the EMC is present.
Negotiations aimed at demobilizing 3,500 rebels and putting a definitive end to their armed insurrection began in mid-October in Tibu, in the northeast of the country, in a region where coca leaves (the main ingredient of cocaine) are produced. .
They had been postponed, the dissidents, who consider themselves the true heirs of the FARC, having notably increased their operations against the security forces in recent months in an attempt to increase their territorial hold on drug trafficking zones.
With the official launch of these talks, a three-month bilateral ceasefire began, according to a decree issued by the Defense Ministry. It should be maintained, according to the announcement made on Sunday.
No government or military sources have commented on the EMC announcement.
The Armed Forces reported that around a hundred soldiers carrying out mine clearance work were detained by civilians and then released in the El Plateado sector, in the department of Cauca (southwest).
“It is possible that the kidnappers were used” by the EMC’s Carlos Patiño Front, they said in a statement. The soldiers were evacuated by helicopter.
Néstor Gregorio Vera, better known as “Ivan Mordisco”, head of the FARC Central Staff (EMC) never wanted to participate in the 2016 agreement and the disarmament that followed.
Mr. Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president and a former guerrilla himself, is seeking to give dissidents a second chance to lay down their arms after their rejection of the historic 2016 peace deal.
He wants to end six decades of armed conflict by leading peace negotiations with all illegal armed groups: the FARC dissidents, the Guevarist guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN), but also paramilitaries and several criminal groups.