The Colombian government will hold exploratory talks with the National Liberation Army in the first week of May, according to Colombian radio station La FM. The government is also expected to reveal details about the location and start date of the negotiations.
Bogota last engaged in negotiations with the group from 2005 to 2007. Those talks went on for eight rounds and generated several notable agreements. The rebels agreed to suspend military action, kidnappings and attacks on infrastructure. But the talks disintegrated when the government insisted on a complete demobilization and disarmament akin to the demobilization of the country's right-wing paramilitary forces, rather than a mere cease-fire. When negotiations started to stall in 2007, former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez became involved, briefly serving as a mediator. In November 2007, he broke protocol by speaking directly with the Colombian military, prompting former President Alvaro Uribe to break off negotiations — at which point the rebel group resumed hostilities.
Since July 2012, before the beginning of the most recent negotiations with the FARC, the National Liberation Army has been signaling its interest in renewed negotiations. Until now, the group and the government have been unable to agree on terms for talks. The rebels want talks without preconditions, but Bogota is insisting on an end to kidnapping. The government also has demanded a timeline for peace.
Strong rumors of renewed talks with the National Liberation Army's delegation first emerged the week of April 21. According to reports, Israel Ramirez Pineda, also known as Pablo Beltran — the chief negotiator for the rebels in the last round of talks — will represent the rebels, while Jaime Bernal Cuellar, a former attorney general in Colombia, will lead the government delegation. Though unconfirmed, the specificity of the reports stands out.
The report also said the Venezuelan government facilitated the exploratory talks, which will either occur in Havana, where Bogota's negotiations with the FARC are occurring, or in Venezuela. If true, this would be consistent with Venezuela's history of serving as intermediary between Colombia's rebels and Bogota. Chavez's successor, President Nicolas Maduro, will likely continue this legacy. Venezuela has political and security reasons to help bring the National Liberation Army to the negotiating table. The rebel group is most active along the Venezuelan-Colombian border, and it poses a challenge to the security forces of both countries.
The parallel talks could complicate both sets of negotiations, but they would also possibly lead to significant achievement. A cessation of attacks brought about by an agreement would send a strong signal to the investor community. A deal with both groups also would allow Bogota to allocate additional resources to tackling the country's "bandas criminales," the criminal gangs more commonly known as bacrim, which are now thought to be responsible for most violent crime in Colombia.
Over the next several weeks, the government could reach an agreement with FARC negotiators over land reform, the first point on the agenda in those talks, while beginning parallel negotiations with the National Liberation Army. Though these developments would boost optimism about talks and buy time for the peace process to gain legitimacy, the process will be drawn out — and it will become more complicated politically as Colombia's May 2014 election approaches.
