Through a statement this Saturday, May 13, the negotiating delegation of the ELN guerrillas said that the government of Gustavo Petro contradicted itself with its speech to the military leadership and asked the president to follow the Mexico agreement , which he himself signed.
During his speech last week before the military leadership, the president assured that ELN negotiators “sit at the table and talk, but do they give orders? There are many questions each of us have. Do they really govern?” In addition, he added that a large proportion of ELN structures are dedicated to illegal businesses: “They all revolve around the illegal economy, they have little to do with Father Camilo Torres. They have the same flag, but their cause is the illegal economy,” the president said.
Given the President’s words, the ELN negotiating delegation showed its notable displeasure with the President and asked him to abide by the Mexico agreement signed this Saturday.
“The direct questioning of the ELN Dialogue delegation, the humiliating and stigmatizing treatment of our organization, and the security principles that underlie it, in which it is defended, are no longer a “struggle of ideologies or social conflict”, but a battle Raises a fundamental question on the political understanding of the negotiating table and its entire architecture, including guarantor countries, accompanying organizations (the UN and the Colombian Episcopal Conference) and countries, against “illegal economies”, the delegation of governments with individuals,” read the statement.
“Therefore, we urgently ask the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro Urrego, whether his government continues to consider this, as stated in the Mexico Agreement signed by the parties and deposited with the guarantors, a serious political process that aims “to overcome six decades of armed conflict, to process political, economic and social contradictions, to eradicate violence, to agree to democratize changes, and to move towards national reconciliation”. For.
For the ELN negotiating delegation, the president, Gustavo Petro, repudiates the Mexico agreement, which his own government signed on March 10, 2023, during the second round of these talks.
