Pablo Beltrán, head of the ELN negotiating delegation: “They have tried to poison us to prevent a peace agreement”
PASCUAL SERRANO
After the Colombian government signed the peace agreement with the FARC in 2016, the ELN remained the oldest guerrilla in Latin America, created in 1964 and inspired by Liberation Theology and Marxism. This insurgent group has, on the one hand, about 5.000 armed men and, on the other, many more participating in political and social life clandestinely.
After the period of talks in Havana, the peace talks between the guerrilla and the Colombian government have entered a new phase, now in Caracas. After a first round until April 22, both parties will negotiate again in the Venezuelan capital between May 20 and 25. However, it does not seem that the road is being easy. This is the conclusion drawn after the conversation held somewhere in Caracas with the ELN's chief negotiator, Commander Pablo Beltrán. A man who has been in the guerrilla for 54 of his 70 years.
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