Peace Talks with ELN Stall over Hostage Release

A protest sign reads "What about the ELN hostages?" in response to the FARC peace talks The Colombian government suspended peace negotiations with the National Liberation Army (ELN) on October 27 due to the ELN’s delay in releasing Odín Sánchez, a former congressman who is currently being held hostage. Sanchez’s release is a major requirement for the Colombian government to enter negotiations.

After the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the ELN is Colombia’s second-largest left-wing militant group. Like the FARC, it was founded in the 1960s to fight wealth inequality in rural areas and has used kidnapping, drug trafficking, and terrorist attacks to achieve its goal.

The ELN previously held Odín Sánchez’s brother, former governor Patrocinio Sánchez, captive despite his life-threatening gallbladder infection. In April 2016, Odín Sánchez surrendered his own freedom in exchange for his brother’s release and treatment. This came after the Colombian government and the ELN announced that they would hold peace talks in March earlier this year. Formal negotiations were set to begin last week in Ecuador, provided that the ELN released Sánchez first.

However, Sánchez remained imprisoned and the government recalled its team. Juan Camilo Restrepo, Colombia’s chief negotiator, restated that the ELN must release Sánchez before peace talks can begin, but promised negotiations will begin “the moment we have certainty of [his] liberation.”

The ELN, on the other hand, protested that the original deal did not include the requirement of Sánchez’s release, and announced its intention to correct “misunderstandings” with the government and get the negotiations back on schedule as soon as possible.

The push to commence peace talks with the ELN comes as Colombia renegotiates peace with the FARC. A national referendum held on October 2 struck down an agreement with the FARC, but President Santos quickly initiated a new round of negotiations. This time, the dialogue will include opponents to the former peace deal, who argued it gave FARC rebels too much leniency and led the “No” faction in the referendum.

Patrocinio Sánchez has criticized the “ambiguity” of both the government and the ELN with regard to Odín Sánchez, whose family anxiously awaits his release.