ELN guerrillas patrol in Choco department in 2017.Ivan Valencia (Bloomberg)
The ceasefire agreed with the ELN guerrillas, announced by the government on June 9 and which will begin on August 3, faces an obstacle that sows doubts about its implementation. Through a recording to which EL PAÍS has accessed, the armed group announced that it will carry out an armed strike or a set of military actions in the region of San Juan, in the department of Chocó, to which 11 municipalities belong and where more than 5,600 people were confined on account of another uprising carried out in June by the ELN itself. as the Ombudsman's Office warned at the time.
In the recording, the voice of a man is heard, who identifies himself as a member of the Western War Front Omar Gómez and assures that "paramilitaries of the Clan del Golfo" are responsible for the death of a civilian in Sipí, another town in the region. It adds that the inhabitants of the area are "prevented from freely moving" and accuses state forces of joint actions with paramilitary groups.
"These events that have been occurring in the San Juan region and throughout the department of Chocó are not new. There are permanent joint actions between the military forces of the State and paramilitaries of the Clan del Golfo. These paramilitary groups advance in the territory under their protection, possess paramilitary bases and launch attacks against the civilian population, causing forced displacements, the murder of residents, social leaders," the audio adds.
The man also refers to the ceasefire, which so far is the most significant advance that has been achieved in the negotiations taking place in Havana (Cuba), between members of the Government and the ELN. As agreed, offensive operations will be gradually halted from July 6 until reaching full force on August 3, which will last for 180 days. "We see seriously compromised the beginning of the ceasefire agreed with the National Government (...); we also hold responsible for all these actions against the civilian population and that violate international humanitarian law the Minister (of Defense) Iván Velásquez Gómez and the military commanders in the department of Chocó, Óscar Leónel Murillo Díaz and Héctor Alfonso Candelario, "he said.
The guerrillas thus declare an armed strike "throughout the San Juan region" and call "on all inhabitants and transporters to refrain from circulating in the territory while this order is in force." This guerrilla front had already shown its disagreement with the negotiations taking place between the ELN and the government. "We do not see this peace process with good eyes and every day we have more questions and uncertainties," they said in a document that was distributed through social networks.
The Army has confirmed that in the last hours there were clashes between illegal groups in the vicinity of Doidó, a hamlet that is part of the jurisdiction of Istmina, and that the deceased man is José Florencio Hurtado, 57, who was treated by uniformed officers who arrived at the scene. Her son, a minor, was injured in his right leg. Regarding the armed strike, however, there is still no official statement.
The ELN's decision to go on armed strike coincides with the day that marks its 59th anniversary. The group was born in the mountains of the department of Santander on July 4, 1964 and since then has been an active actor in the Colombian armed conflict. Figures compiled by the Truth Commission attribute to this guerrilla group the responsibility for 4% of the homicides (17,725) committed in the framework of the conflict, between 1985 and 2018.
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