The Government of Colombia lifted the arrest warrants and suspended the notifications of international cooperation requests and Interpol alerts of the members of the peace delegation of the National Liberation Army (ELN), as well as annulled the extradition requests made to Cuba of members of said delegation who remained in our country.
Faced with this new situation, the members of the ELN peace delegation that remained in Cuba withdrew from the national territory, in compliance with an agreement between the National Government of Colombia and the ELN, and the guarantors of Norway, Venezuela and Cuba.
As is known, on January 18, 2019, the Government of Colombia publicly announced the decision to conclude the peace talks between the Colombian government and the ELN, which had been taking place in Havana, Cuba, at the request of the then President Juan Manuel Santos, of the ELN and other international actors.
From that very moment, Cuba appealed to the Government of Colombia and the ELN, so that they adopt the pertinent actions that would allow applying the entitled “Protocol Established in Case of Breakdown of the Negotiation of Peace Dialogues Colombian Government-ELN”, signed in the framework of the peace negotiations by the Government of Colombia, the ELN and the guarantor countries on April 5, 2016.
Said protocol establishes that “if the peace talks break down, the countries and the parties will have 15 days from their announcement to plan and specify the return to Colombia of the representative members of the ELN delegation.”
Forty-five months have passed since the time the agreement should have been fulfilled.
Regarding the permanence in Cuba of the ELN peace delegation, the previous Colombian government developed hostile actions against Cuba, through the ungrateful and politically motivated manipulation of the Cuban contribution to peace in Colombia and ignored the rupture protocol, frankly abandonment and breaking of the commitments acquired by that State with six other signatory nations.
The actions of the previous government of Colombia, in collusion with anti-Cuban sectors in the United States, provided the pretexts for the purposes of the Trump Government to intensify the economic, financial and commercial blockade against Cuba and the illegitimate designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism that causes enormous costs and serious humanitarian consequences for the Cuban people.
Cuba acted in strict adherence to its status as guarantor and alternative venue, in an impartial, responsible, professional and discreet manner, in the interest of a political solution to the conflict in Colombia to achieve the peace that its people long for.
With the application of the rupture protocol, what was agreed between the parties and with the guarantors is fulfilled and it is confirmed that the position of principles and in adherence to international law adopted by Cuba was correct.
Likewise, Cuba supports the announcement made today in Caracas by representatives of the Government of Colombia and the ELN, in the presence of the guarantors of Venezuela, Norway, Cuba and special guests, that the talks table will be reinstated in the coming weeks.
Cuba reiterates its decision to carry out this process in the strictest respect for the consent and specific agreements reached between the Government of Colombia and the ELN based on official requests received from them.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba reiterates that Cuba will continue to support and contribute, together with the guarantor countries, to the negotiations with the ELN, which it sees as an opportunity and reiterates its deep conviction that the Colombian people deserve peace. and find the ways to reach it.
On his Twitter account, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla ratified the Minrex statement.