Antonio García, top commander of the ELN; Pablo Beltrán, chief negotiator of that guerrilla, and Pablito, who was the head of the eastern war front.
Photo: ELN
This Monday, through a statement, the ELN guerrilla announced the closure of its VI Congress, which ended with several key announcements and the reappearance of Gustavo Aníbal Giraldo, known in the war as Pablito, who was the head of the Eastern War Front.
Since 2021, the whereabouts of this guerrilla leader were unknown, of whom It was speculated that he was dead, although on several occasions members of that guerrilla had denied that statement and, in fact, had stated that Giraldo supported the current negotiation.
According to the statement, within the framework of the VI congress “the new National Directorate was elected, its vast majority being ratified, as well as its first three commanders of the Central Command (COCE).”
Although it is not mentioned in the text, Colombia+20 confirmed that Antonio García was ratified as the ELN’s top commander.
The statement is accompanied by a video in which you can see a photograph showing Pablito, as well as the head of the ELN delegation in the peace process, Pablo Beltrán, and Antonio García.
The holding of the VI Congress had been one of the requests of the Government delegation and could bring some calm to the negotiations, which for months have been facing a crisis due to the regional dialogue that the Executive has been carrying out with the Southern Community Front, which is split from the ELN, and for issues such as the announcement to reactivate kidnappings.
In context: Commoners del Sur: The questions of the negotiation now that they are not part of the ELN
The statement refers to the agreement signed between both delegations on May 25 on the first point of the dialogue agenda that focuses on the participation of civil society in these dialogues, and says that they could help on an issue that the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, has spoken about insistently in recent weeks : a “constituent process”.
“This peace process, built with the Participation of Society, by collecting the expectations of change of the majorities can open or converge in a constituent process,” says the text.
Regarding the participation agreement, the statement read by Antonio García also says that the VI Congress served to reaffirm the “will for peace and its commitment to fulfill what was agreed at the Dialogue Table with the Government.”
“Values the agreement on the Design of Society Participation in the peace process, as it is the product of the contribution of thousands of voices and organizations of Colombian society, which aspire to have a sovereign country, with full democracy, with social justice and inclusive; “an objective that will be achieved through a Great National Agreement that makes viable the transformations expected by the majorities,” the statement says.
Although the statement does not directly mention the dialogues with the Frente Comuneros del Sur, it does talk about the crisis at the dialogue table.
Also read: This is how the division of ELN and the Nariño front was created, which has the dialogues in crisis
“In the present moment, The peace talks process is going through a serious crisis produced by non-compliance with agreements by the Government, but to the extent that it is rectified in a certain way, the activities of the table may be resumed.”
Furthermore, after a reflection on the current economic and political system, in which they mention various events at the international level, the ELN refers to the election of President Petro.
“Colombia has not been the exception in the massive struggles of the people to achieve changes for society, as a product of that hope the Historical Pact achieved the Presidency with Gustavo Petro, but The proposed reforms have been blocked by economic and political power groups that are hegemonic in the regime and the State.”
The VI congress of the ELN took place one month after that guerrilla celebrates 60 years of armed uprising. According to the statement, all the War Fronts and Specialized National Structures of the ELN participated in the event. “The debates took place in an atmosphere of fraternity and harmony, which concluded in important definitions with broad consensus,” the text says.
