Colombia’s President-elect Gustavo Petro proposed on July 5 a bilateral ceasefire between the government’s security forces and the left-wing guerrillas – especially the National Liberation Army (known by the Spanish acronym ELN) – that have been active in the South American country since the 1960s.
That seems to be an important step in the peace process launched in 2012 by former President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (known as FARC), tainted over the years by a series of setbacks which impeded its full implementation. The Church has been playing a vital role in the negotiations and is hopeful that solution may be reached.
