The ELN guerrillawhich resumed peace negotiations in Colombia with the government of Gustavo Petroannounced this Sunday a “unilateral ceasefire” for the holidays Christmas and end of year, according to a statement released by the guerrilla and the government.
The truce is “will begin at 00:00 hours (05H00 GMT) on December 23 of this year and will end at 00:00 hours (05H00 GMT) on January 3, 2025”said the National Liberation Army (ELN) in the statement posted on the social network X.
He added that the ceasefire is a “gesture of peace with the Colombian people” for the upcoming “Christmas and New Year festivities.” In previous years the guerrillas have declared similar truces during these celebrations.
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Petro shared the same statement on his X account with the message: “The end of the war is the national goal for 2025.”
The ELN pointed out that it has given instructions to all its structures “not to carry out offensive military operations against the State Armed Forces.”
The Colombian government and the ELN resumed peace talks in November, which had been put on hold in September after an attack by the rebels against a military base that left three soldiers dead and 28 wounded. This fueled the confrontations.
In the middle of these conversations the guerrilla launched an attack in which five soldiers died.
The ELN in Colombia
The ELN has about 5,800 members throughout the country, according to military intelligence
Petro began dialogue with the ELN at the end of 2022, when he became the first leftist to become president of Colombia. But this peace process suffers constant crises due to rebel attacks and differences at the table.
The Colombian government has announced a “new stage” of negotiations for January, when it is expected to discuss the resumption of the ceasefire suspended since August after the ELN’s decision not to renew the truce that had been in force since 2023. The Military Forces also resumed then their operations against the rebels.