Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro Says His Country Agrees to Be 'Guarantor' of Colombia Peace Negotiations With ELN Rebels

The government of Colombia will be conducting peace talks with the National Liberation Army rebel group later this year, and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said his government will act as a "guarantor" in peace talks between the two sides.

According to the Associated Press, Maduro made the announcement Tuesday on national television, noting that Colombia's President Gustavo Petro requested that his government take on the diplomatic role. Maduro said he had accepted the request.

The Venezuelan president noted that his socialist government was interested in initiating peace, security, and stability not only in Colombia but also "throughout the continent."

Colombia Rebuilding Ties With Venezuela After Gustavo Petro Won the Presidency

Negotiations between the government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army, or ELN, began in 2016, with Venezuela acting as a guarantor nation in the peace talks.

However, political tensions between the two countries arose in 2018 when the Colombian government sided with the United States and recognized Maduro's opponent, Juan Guaido, as the rightful winner of the Venezuelan elections.

Colombia then asked the Maduro administration to step down from that role at the time, and Venezuela broke off diplomatic relations with Colombia the following year.

Petro had started normalizing relations with its neighbor after getting elected as Colombia's first leftist president earlier this year. According to the Morning Star, Petro also dropped his predecessor Ivan Duque's recognition of Guaido as the winner of the Venezuelan elections.

Reestablishing these diplomatic relations means that the Colombia-Venezuela border will re-open to cargo trucks later this month. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been complicated, as the National Liberation Army, Colombia's last recognized rebel group, had been operating on both sides of the border.

Human Rights Watch noted that the Venezuelan military had been helping these rebels out and had even conducted joint operations against other rebel groups operating in Venezuela. However, the Venezuelan government denied these claims, saying they do not have anything to do with the rebel group.

Colombia's Gustavo Petro Seeks 'Total Peace' With Rebel Groups and Criminal Gangs

The Communist insurgency has been a thorn in the side of the Colombian government for decades. Rebel groups such as the National Liberation Army and the FARC have committed various atrocities through the years.

Even with the FARC disbanding, several remnants are still performing an armed struggle against the government. Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla fighter, has been ambitious in seeking to negotiate with the groups operating outside the law and achieve an agreement like the one reached with the FARC.

According to La Prensa Latina, he had also resumed relations with Venezuela to achieve "total peace." Petro claimed that he had already received letters from criminal gangs wanting to join the peace talks.

He said Colombia will offer submission to justice for these gangs, but for the ELN, the country seeks to negotiate a peace agreement.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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