The commander of Colombia’s armed forces, Admiral Edgar Cely, has said that the FARC and the ELN are “dying” but they will not accept it and are increasing terrorist attacks in an attempt to stay visible, El Espectador reported Wednesday.
The official claimed that Colombia’s two left-wing guerrilla groups “are dying, although these evil organizations are reluctant to believe it and they fight, through terrorism, explosives and landmines, to prevent it and stay visible.”
Striking a similar chord to President Santos’ statements about the military this Monday, he praised the armed forces and echoed that “what follows is perhaps the most difficult part of the process.”
He said that the joint operations undertaken by members of the army, the police, the navy and the air force had enabled them to provide a significant blow to the illegal organizations but cautioned that “there is still more to be done.”
The 58-year-old military chief refuted the notion that there are divisions within the different branches of the armed forces, insisting that all the members of the armed forces are “committed to this cause regardless of the color of their uniform,” before heralding them as one of the most skilled and experienced counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics forces in the hemisphere.
Last month, Cely stated his belief that the end of the over 45-year internal armed conflict will eventually come about through peace talks once the FARC and the ELN realize that is their only option, rejecting that the objective is the complete eradication of the subversive groups.