Colombia seeks arrest of ELN rebel leaders after bombing

January 19, 2019

Colombian President Ivan Duque announced on Friday that he was reinstating the arrest warrants of 10 National Liberation Army (ELN) members after his government accused the group of being responsible for a car bombing in a Bogota police academy.

The attack on Thursday, which left 21 people dead and dozens wounded, has been a major setback to two years of peace talk attempts between the Colombian government and the ELN. Former President Juan Manuel Santos had begun the talks with the group in Havana, but Duque suspended them just after taking office in August.

The Colombian president has now called on Cuba to hand over 10 ELN members who were on the island for the stalled peace talks.

“It’s clear to all of Colombia that the ELN has no true desire for peace,” Duque said, citing a long list of kidnappings and attacks attributed to the guerrillas since peace talks began in 2017.

“We would like to thank the Cuban government for the solidarity it expressed yesterday and today, and we ask that it capture the terrorists who are inside its territory and hand them over to Colombian police,” Duque added.

“The terrorists are looking to intimidate us as a society,” he said, declaring three days of mourning.

Duque vowed that Colombia would “demonstrate that it is a strong state, united and won’t break” in the face of the attack.

Bomber identified

Colombia’s Chief Prosecutor Nestor Martinez said on Friday that authorities had identified the man who carried out the attack on the police academy.

The man, 56-year-old Jose Aldemar Rojas, was a longtime member of the ELN. A bombmaker, he was known as Mocho Kiko, a moniker he earned for having lost an arm while manipulating explosives during his career with an ELN cell near the border with Venezuela.

Authorities were able to identify him with the help of security cameras and fingerprints on his left hand.

“The entire Colombian state,” Martinez said, “is prepared to confront with the constitution and laws in our hands those who want to ambush our national security and impose the force of terrorism.”

Read more: Colombia’s cocaine: Who will take charge now?

Defense Minister Guillermo Botero provided a clear picture of what happened on Thursday. Botero said Rojas entered the heavily guarded facility through a side entrance used for deliveries.

He managed to drive into the heart of the school and exploded the vehicle in front of a red-tile-roofed barrack used by female cadets just after an honor ceremony had concluded.

“This was an operation being planned for more than 10 months,” Botero said. Authorities believe that the blast was ignited remotely by another suspect, from at a nearby bus stop.

jcg/sms (EFE, AP, Reuters)

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

Difficult path toward peace

The 2016 signing of the peace accord between the Colombian government and FARC rebels was a major, but not final, step towards ending the decades-long conflict. The deal remains a controversial topic in the country and took center stage during the presidential election.

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

Land owners vs. farmers

The conflict’s origins date to the 1920s and a struggle over land ownership, which claimed thousands of lives. The 1948 murder of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan (photo), a liberal politician, threw the country into deep crisis. A result was the formation of a number of resistance groups; the Colombian army launched a campaign against “communist farmers.”

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

FARC and ELN

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) were founded in 1964. The former wanted to break up the monopoly of land ownership, whereas the ELN formed out of a radical student movement and ideas of liberation theologians such as Camilo Torres (photo). The Colombian government fought both groups with the support the United States.

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

Paramilitary groups

The conflict deepened in the 1980s with the introduction of right-wing paramilitary groups in the service of the landowners against FARC. Both sides were closely linked to drug cartels. Four presidential candidates and countless left-wing politicians were murdered by paramilitaries between 1986 and 1990.

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

Ingrid Betancourt kidnapped

In February 2002, the government cut off peace negotiations with FARC after guerrillas hijacked a domestic flight. Days later, the rebels struck again, kidnapping presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Alvaro Uribe went on to win the election that May and escalated military operations against FARC, ruling out further negotiations. He was re-elected in 2007. Betancourt was released in 2008.

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

Peace talks begin

Juan Manuel Santos was elected president in 2010. Two years later, a law concerning compensation for victims of violence and the return of land came into effect. Peace talks between the government (photo) and FARC officially began that November.

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

Ceasefire

At midnight on August 29, 2016, the permanent ceasefire came into force. “A new chapter in Colombia’s history begins on August 29,” Santos wrote on Twitter. “We have silenced the weapons. The war with FARC is over!”

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

Peace deal with FARC

On September 26, 2016, President Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, a.k.a. Timochenko, signed the peace treaty, ending the 52-year-old conflict. The signing took place in Cartagena and was attended by 2,500 people.

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

Setback

Distrust in FARC manifested itself in a pre-referendum campaign against the peace treaty, led by the conservative ex-president Alvaro Uribe. To the surprise of many observers, a thin majority of Colombians voted to reject the deal on October 2, 2016.

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

Peace Prize for Santos

The international community threw its support behind the treaty’s supporters. Just five days after it was rejected in a referendum, Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The ceremony took place in Oslo in December 2016.

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

Parliamentary ratification

Colombia’s parliament ratified the peace treaty on November 30, 2016, following a list of changes to the deal’s original language.

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

Disarmament

FARC rebels gave up their weapons in three phases. On June 27, 2017, at the end of the UN-controlled disarmament process, Santos wrote: “For me and all Colombians, today is a special day. It’s a day when weapons were exchanged for words.”

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

The new FARC

The now disarmed, former rebel group chose to renew itself as a political party and disavow violence during a convention on August 27, 2017. The guerrilla’s founder, Rodrigo Londono (photo), was elected the new party’s head. He was unable to run for president, however, due to his poor health.

Colombia’s long struggle for peace

FARC at the polls

For the first time since the end of the armed conflict, FARC put up its members as candidates in the parliamentary election, which took place on March 11, 2018. The party received just 50,000 votes, but secured five seats in the senate and lower house of parliament, respectively, as guaranteed by the peace treaty. The conservative party of former President Uribe won the election.

Author: Emilia Rojas Sasse