Knowledge Partner
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist
unsympathe*c to the guerrilla forces, refusing to label them terrorists.
Santos’s move to involve Cuba as the seat of four years of nego*a*ons
with the FARC – and Ecuador now for the ELN – was a recogni*on of the
poli*cal impera*ve that the Lej, indeed regional opinion, cannot be
ignored. Moreover, the porous borders between all these countries
meant the guerrillas – and drugs – could move and find sanctuary freely
in Colombia’s proximity. Cross-border raids by Colombian forces – the
most notable of which was in 2009 in Ecuador, resul*ng in the death of a
prominent FARC leader – were poli*cally sensi*ve and avoided.
checked, if not rolled back. They have also laid down most of their arms
under interna*onal supervision.
Buoyed by the progress with the FARC – and the Nobel Peace Prize for
2016 – Santos commenced nego*a*ons in neighbouring Ecuador with the
Ejército de Liberación Nacional (Na*onal Libera*on Army) (ELN), the other
major guerrilla group, reputed to have around 3000 armed fighters. A
bilateral ceasefire, effec*ve *ll 9 January 2018, was agreed pending a final
seQlement. The ceasefire was terminated because of terrorist aQacks by the
ELN in January 2018.
Santos, who as defence minister under Uribe had waged war against the
guerrillas, chose diplomacy. He confronted a strong poli*cal Right, which
gathered enough support to defeat his referendum, but sheer convic*on
Colombia has had problems with its neighbours, especially Ecuador and
Venezuela, where the ruling lej-wing establishments have not been
Image 11: Colombian government representaLve Juan Camilo Restrepo (L), ELN's Pablo Beltran (R), and Ecuador's Deputy Secretary of ABenLon to Immigrants Juan Meriguet at a
press conference in Salgoqui, Ecuador, 06 April 2017
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