09:00 PM
This Monday, the installation of peace talks between the national government of Colombia and the FARC dissidents of the Second Marquetalia, led by alias Iván Márquez, began. Event that marks the third negotiation process that President Gustavo Petro carries out with organizations outside the law, as part of his Total Peace policy.
The reappearance of Luciano Marín Arango, alias Iván Márquez, former member of the FARC secretariat, generated great controversy. However, another fact that ignited the controversy were the statements of the high commissioner for peace, Otty Patiño, who publicly lamented the death of several members of the Second Marquetalia.
Patino apologized to the members of the Second Marquetalia for the death of some of its members in Nariño, which caused outrage. The State official was visibly affected during his statements, addressing Márquez and the dissident delegation with a tone that showed his regret.
“Deeply regret events that cannot be called incidents because it makes them light and insignificant. It is something fateful and we have mistreated the trust that we have been creating since February with the Second Marquetalia,” said Patiño.
In his statements, Patiño seems to have offered forgiveness on behalf of the State to the Second Marquetalia, especially due to the events that occurred in Nariño, where an operation by the special forces of the National Army resulted in the death of three people and left four more injured. Patiño assured that his position had the support of President Gustavo Petro.
“It is something fateful and that is how the president, the Minister of Defense and the high command of the Military Forces understand it, in such a way that the fact that we are sitting here means that there is temperance,” said Patiño.
You may be interested: Dissidents have carried out 20 drone attacks so far in 2024
Among those killed was Hermes Guerrero, one of the commanders of the Pacific Guerrilla Coordination of this outlaw structure. The news, spread on the morning of Monday, June 24, generated tension in the peace delegations, Well, it was just when the new process began.
Since the day before, delegates from the Colombian Government arrived in Caracas to set up the dialogue table with the Second Marquetalia. Alias Iván Márquez, whose figure has been central in this process, reappeared publicly, denying rumors about his death during the government of former president Iván Duque in a bombing in the Venezuelan jungles.
The Second Marquetalia is the smallest group to which the Government has granted political status. It is estimated that they have between 1,800 and 2,000 men, of which only between 1,200 and 1,300 are armed, while the rest are collaborators.
Despite its size, They are present in 60 municipalities in the country, especially in the departments of Nariño and Putumayoand in border areas where their allies operate, the Border Commandos, which control drug production and trafficking in the region.
The negotiations will follow the “agreed agreement, agreement fulfilled” model, which will cover the design, start-up, implementation and verification phases.
The agenda between the dissidents and the government will focus on five basic points: de-escalation of the conflict and readiness of the territory, construction of territories of peace, victims as a transformative social subject, conditions for peaceful coexistence and implementation and verification.
The beginning of this new dialogue process occurs at a crucial moment, given that President Petro seeks to consolidate his Total Peace policy. This initiative has already seen progress in negotiations with the ELN and the Central General Staff (EMC), and is now expanding with the inclusion of the Second Marquetalia.
Petro’s Total Peace policy faces multiple challenges, both internal and external, but its most critical point is the wave of violence experienced in the southwest of the country.
The situation in Nariño and other regions affected by the conflict remains tense. Local communities hope that these dialogues will lead to a reduction in violence and the implementation of lasting solutions that benefit all parties involved.
