Colombia extends ceasefire with rebels as group promises to stop kidnappings

President Gustavo Petro held a ceremony to formally begin the ceasefire back last August (Ivan Valencia/AP)

Colombia’s government and the nation’s largest remaining guerrilla group have reached a last-minute deal to extend a ceasefire that began last year by six months, with the rebels also promising to stop kidnapping civilians for ransom.

The truce was set to expire on Tuesday, but in a brief statement issued just minutes before midnight both sides said they have extended the ceasefire for 180 days.

The statement said the National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish acronym the ELN, will “temporarily and unilaterally suspend economic detentions” in order to contribute to the ceasefire.

Government officials said they were pleased with the new terms of the ceasefire.

“Many of the peace deals that have been signed in this country have had little impact on the ground,” said Otty Patino, Colombia’s peace commissioner. “It is very important to work on territorial peace.”

Colombia’s government and the National Liberation Army have been holding peace talks since late 2022 as President Gustavo Petro tries to pacify several armed groups that were not part of a 2016 peace deal between the government and the nation’s main rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc.

A ceasefire between the government and the ELN started in August, and has reduced fighting between both sides.

But during the truce, the rebels also have been recruiting teenagers, and financing their operations through extortion and kidnappings, leading to complaints that the ceasefire has not done enough to improve security for civilians in rural areas.

In October, the ceasefire almost broke down when an ELN detachment in northern Colombia kidnapped the parents of Liverpool star Luis Diaz, one of the nation’s most beloved football players.

Diaz’s mother was quickly rescued by police, while his father was released 12 days later following numerous protests and petitions.

According to Colombia’s Defence Ministry, the National Liberation Army is holding at least 38 hostages.

The group has asked the government to provide it with alternate ways to finance its operations, while talks continue to take place.

Monday’s statement said that the conditions under which the rebels will cease kidnappings will continue to be discussed in an upcoming round of talks in April.