The Ejército Nacional de Liberación (National Liberation Army – ELN) is the largest remaining guerrilla group in Colombia, following the signing of the 2016 Peace Accord between the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas de Colombia (FARC-EP).
It is estimated that the ELN currently has some 5,800 members, with 3,000 combatants and is comprised of 8 main bloques and 33 subestrucutras. The EMC mainly operates in Arauca and Norte de Santander, in the north-east of the country, but activity is seen right across to Chocó and Cauca in the west/south-west.[1]
2016-2022
Previous peace talks
Multiple rounds of peace talks with the ELN have failed since the 2016 Peace Accord.
Talks resume in 2022 after an almost four year suspension that was ordered by ex-President Ivan Duque, due to a car bomb attack carried out by the ELN that killed 21 people.
October 2022
ELN enters in to peace talks with the government
In a major step forward, the ELN and the Colombian Government enter into Peace Talks in Venezuela as part of new President Petro’s “Total Peace” policy.
19 December 2022
ELN announces unilateral ceasefire
The ELN announces its own unilateral ceasefire over the Christmas period, from 24 December – 2 January.
31 December 2022
Six-month ceasefire with major armed groups announced
At the end of 2022, President Petro announces that the government had agreed to bilateral ceasefires with the five main armed groups in Colombia, including the ELN.
3 January 2024
ELN denies ceasefire agreement
After Petro’s announcement, the ELN denies having made such an agreement with the government. The unilateral ceasefire comes to an end.
4 January 2023
Government suspends ceasefire
The government also announces that it has suspended the ceasefire with the ELN, due to their rejection of the truce.
February – May 2023
Peace talks resume
The ELN and the government meet in Mexico and Cuba to resume the second and third rounds of peace talks.
9 June – 5 July 2023
Planning for ceasefire begins
The ceasefire is implemented in three phases to allow the establishment of protocols, community dialogues, education about what a bilateral ceasefire means in practice, and explanation of how the monitoring and verification mechanisms will work.
The UN’s mission in Colombia and the Catholic Church monitor the compliance of the process with international humanitarian law.
4 July 2023
ELN plans to halt all attacks
The ELN announces that as of 6 July 2023 it will halt all attacks against state forces, ahead of the full implementation of the bilateral ceasefire in August.
6 July 2023
Lead up to ceasefire begins
The initial stage of the ceasefire is put into practice – with the promise that no attacks will be initiated by the ELN or the Colombian Security Forces.
3 August 2023
The Bilateral, National, Temporary Ceasefire is announced
The six-month truce between the authorities and the ELN follows 10 months of negotiations. This ceasefire marks the next step in an ongoing peace process.
The ceasefire will be monitored and verified by the UN Mission of Verification (MMV), the Catholic Church (la Conferencia Episcopal), Government and ELN representatives. The MMV and the Conferencia Episcopal will coordinate with social organisations that are part of the Veeduria Social (Social Monitoring mechanism).
November 2023
ELN responsible for kidnapping of Manuel Díaz
Despite the ongoing ceasefire, the ELN continues its illicit activity and kidnaps Manuel Díaz, father of Liverpool FC player Luis Díaz. This garners lots of international attention.
17 December 2023
ELN suspends kidnappings
Peace Talks resume in Mexico with the ELN, and it is agreed that they stop kidnappings. However, they demand that the government fills the gap in financing that would result from this action.
22 January 2023
Peace talks continue
The sixth round of peace talks begins in Cuba, one week prior to the expiration of the current bilateral ceasefire.
29 January 2024
Bilateral ceasefire extended by 1 week
Petro’s government and the ELN agree to extend the ceasefire for seven days while they negotiate a longer extension.
6 February 2024
Bilateral ceasefire extended by 6 months
The ceasefire is extended for another six months, now due to expire in August 2023. The government and the ELN also announced the creation of a fund backed by multiple donors to finance the process.
10 February 2024
ELN orders an armed strike
The ELN announces an “armed strike” in southern Choco following alleged paramilitary attacks against the population, and the presence of state and paramilitary forces along rivers in the area.
21 February 2024
ELN threatens to freeze peace talks
Despite the extension on the bilateral ceasefire, the ELN threatens to suspend peace talks after claiming the government is breaking its promises. The government also claims that the ELN is not respecting the ceasefire.
26 February 2024
Government and ELN meet
Despite ongoing difficulties, the ELN and the government hold a meeting and agree that peace talks will resume in Venezuela in April 2024.
1 March 2024
ELN release all hostages
The ELN say that they have freed all hostages under a deal made with the government to end kidnapping for ransom. It is believed that the group was holding around 26 people hostage.
9 April 2024
ELN rebels call for “extraordinary” meeting while freezing talks
The ELN state that the group is suspending participation in upcoming peace talks but request an extraordinary meeting with the government after saying that peace talks were in a “critical state”.
23 April 2024
Government and ELN agree to new talks
The Colombian government and the ELN agree to hold new meetings in Venezuela at the end of May 2024.
The government is also engaged in Peace Talks with the EMC and the Segunda Marquetalia.
[1] https://indepaz.org.co/el-accionar-de-los-grupos-armados-en-el-contexto-de-la-paz-total/ (pages 17 & 24).