BOGOTA — Colombia’s government and the last active ELN guerrilla delegation announced a formal ceasefire Friday, ending a 57-year conflict that has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced nearly eight million. The deal, brokered over 14 months of negotiations in Havana with Cuban and Norwegian mediation, takes effect at midnight and includes a monitored disarmament process for the ELN’s remaining 2,300 fighters.
President Gustavo Petro called the agreement “the beginning of the end of a war that should never have lasted this long.” ELN’s top commander signed alongside government negotiator Vera Grabe in a ceremony attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Under the terms, fighters will hand over weapons to UN monitors within 90 days. The ceasefire faces challenges from dissident factions near the Venezuelan border.
Diego Vargas is Media Hook’s Latin America Correspondent.
Written by Diego Vargas, Latin America Correspondent