Colombia announces ceasefire with guerrilla groups 

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Sunday a six-month ceasefire with five illegal armed groups as peace talks between the guerrilla groups and the government continue.  

"This is a bold act," Petro wrote on Twitter. "The bilateral ceasefire obliges the armed organizations and the state to respect it. There will be a national and international verification mechanism."

The leftists guerrilla groups who are taking part in the ceasefire include the National Liberation Army (ELN) as well as dissident groups formed by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Segunda Marquetalia, and Estado Mayor Central.  

The ceasefire, which will be monitored by the United Nations, Colombia’s human rights ombudsman, and the Catholic Church, was declared "extendable depending on progress in the negotiations."

Hemos acordado un cese bilateral con el ELN, la Segunda Marquetalia, el Estado Mayor Central, las AGC y las Autodefensas de la Sierra Nevada desde el 1 de enero hasta el 30 de junio de 2023, prorrogable según los avances en las negociaciones.

La paz total será una realidad.

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 1, 2023

The two groups restarted the peace talks on November 21 in Caracas, Venezuela, seeking to put an end to more than 60 years of war that has left more than 450,000 dead. Diplomats from Venezuela, Cuba, Norway, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico were overseeing the negotiations. 

Petro, who assumed the presidency in August, is Colombia’s first leftist president and was a former member of the M-19 insurgency. As part of his electoral campaign, he promised to bring “total peace” to Colombia by negotiating with the rebels and criminal gangs. 

The next round of talks will take place in Mexico in January, announced Mexico’s ambassador to Caracas, Leopoldo de Gyves.