FARC dissidents declare ‘unilateral’ ceasefire after talks with Colombian government

Caracas. Second Marquetalia, an armed dissident group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)According to a statement, a unilateral ceasefire and the release of detainees were announced at the end of a meeting in Caracas, Venezuela last Saturday, June 29.

According to the document signed by the chief negotiator, Armando Novoa, the delegations agreed to “early steps” to de-escalate the conflict, which include a “Second Marquitilla-EB unilateral ceasefire” and the “handover of captured personnel” from the government and Walter Mendoza from the group led by alias Iván Márquez.

The text, which emerged five days after the first round of talks, added that the agreed stop “does not imply a limitation of the constitutional and legal powers of the public forces”.

However, it has not yet been determined when it will begin or how long it will last. All parties said that “the full implementation of the de-escalation operation will begin with the entry into force of the presidential decree on offensive military operations.”

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The delegations began negotiations on June 24 and hope to meet again in Cuba in the second week of August.

But first they will meet in Tumaco, Nariño (West) “no later than July 20, 2024” to propose a de-escalation agreement, define the modalities and review “a timetable for the identification of quick-impact social and economic projects”. This negotiation is another bet by the Colombian government to achieve a comprehensive peace in the country.

Leftist President Gustavo Petro is also holding talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the General Staff Central (EMC), another dissident group led by the alias Iván Mordisco, the leader of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who did not sign the 2016 peace deal.

But negotiations with these groups are going through difficulties. The EMC is experiencing internal divisions, one of the groups has stopped reaching an agreement with the government, and negotiations with the ELN are also in crisis.

‘Assurance to the people’

Under the document signed in Caracas, the rebel group also pledged to respect and provide “guarantees to the population” and promised to “no longer” be armed or in uniform on land and on the river.

The meeting also agreed to set up a “technical sub-committee” to establish “geo-referencing” in the cities, towns and villages where the organization is located.

Analysts consider the Second Marquitalia, which consists of 1,660 fighters, based on military BroadCast Unitedligence calculations, to be a weaker guerrilla group compared to the EMC and the ELN.

The dialogue was attended by seven government representatives and seven other dissidents led by Márquez, whose real name is Luciano Marín, who spent several years in the peace process reached in 2016 between the FARC and the government.

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Márquez later defected and reappeared in a video announcing a new armed revolution in 2019. In 2023, local media speculated that he had died after an attack in Venezuela. Later, the Petro government assured that he was recovering from his injuries in the country.

On May 11, Marquez appeared again in a video expressing his support for Petro, with whom he had agreed to negotiate in February. No statement was made to the media after the negotiation cycle ended.