ELN Peace: Strides and Struggles on Colombia’s Path

Written by Joseph Cain | March 4, 2024

ELN forces training

The National Liberation Army of Colombia (Ejército de Liberación Nacional or ELN) is Latin America’s last-and-longest-standing insurgency. It has been engaged in intermittent peace talks with the Colombian government for decades. However, the Gustavo Petro administration has made peace with the group a cornerstone initiative of the government through its ‘Total Peace’ initiative. Questions remain about the group’s commitment to peace, due to a recent high-profile kidnapping of a soccer star’s father, the temporary freezing of peace talks, its profitable criminal enterprises, and the decentralized organization of the group. According to Reuters, the ELN’s Central Command committed to ending its practice of kidnapping for ransom and freeing its 28 remaining prisoners. 

If the ELN’s new policy holds, then peace negotiations could progress with the government, as kidnapping has remained a major obstacle to negotiations in the past. However, the small Central Command, which comprises the five most senior members of the ELN, cedes significant authority to its war fronts which are responsible for kidnapping. As a result, there is a significant possibility that kidnapping actions by individual fronts could continue if those fronts see continued benefits, both financial and political, in doing so.