HomeNewsBriefColombian ELN Guerrillas 'Thrown Out of Cuba'
BRIEF

Colombian ELN Guerrillas 'Thrown Out of Cuba'

COLOMBIA / 11 JAN 2013 BY HANNAH STONE EN

Representatives of the ELN guerrilla group were expelled from Cuba after an unauthorized attempt to join peace talks between Colombian government and FARC rebels, according to reports.

El Colombiano reported that the National Liberation Army (ELN) sent negotiators to Havana, but that they were turned away by the Cuban authorities because they did not have the permission of the Colombian government.

The news comes a week after the guerrilla group released a video (see below) calling on the armed forces to support the peace talks underway between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In the recording, which was published on the group’s website, commander Nicolas Rodriguez Bautista, alias "Gabino," asks for "deep reflection and a complete support of this peace process," and warns that there can be no lasting peace without the participation of the whole society.

InSight Crime Analysis

The ELN has repeatedly expressed interest in joining the peace process alongside the FARC, but the government has so far rebuffed the group, although President Juan Manuel Santos has said that he would be open to other rebel forces taking part when the time is right.

It is plausible that the ELN might have sent a team to Cuba without authorization from the government in an attempt to force its hand. In November, the ELN leadership released a communique announcing that they had selected a team of negotiators that was ready to start talks, and stated that they were prepared to begin without preconditions.

Colombian media reported last month that ELN representatives had arrived in Cuba on December 3, with the aim of joining talks with the government. If such reports are true, it is unclear how the ELN negotiation team managed to arrange transport to Cuba without the knowledge of the Colombian authorities. The FARC's designated negotiators were granted safe passage by the government, which arranged for the suspension of arrest warrants against them.

It is probable that the Santos government will begin formal talks with the ELN in the coming months. As InSight Crime has pointed out, including the second biggest rebel force in negotiations is vital for a lasting peace process in Colombia. Otherwise, there will be little to stop the ELN from taking over the territory and criminal businesses previously controlled by the FARC. However, the government will likely continue dictating the pace of the peace process, and the ELN guerrillas may have little other option except to follow the government's lead. 

Santos' administration has taken a hard line in talks with the FARC, refusing to wind down military operations after the guerrillas announced a ceasefire in November, and stating publicly that the rebels have until November 2013 to reach an agreement, or the talks are over.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 10 MAY 2023

Roldán was found shot dead on May 6 near the town of Fredonia in the Colombian department of Antioquia, Ecuador’s…

BOLIVIA / 8 MAR 2023

InSight Crime reviews Latin America and the Caribbean's cocaine seizure date from 2022 to find out what it reveals about…

ELITES AND CRIME / 12 JUL 2023

The FBL were a useful criminal ally to Maduro's regime in Venezuela. They were granted favors, political power, and impunity,…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…