FARC dissident group EMC said Sunday that it had suspended peace talks, claiming that Colombia’s government has failed to comply with made agreements.
The guerrillas said that they would uphold a ceasefire that was agreed with the government of President Gustavo Petro three weeks ago.
According to an EMC press release, the peace talks were suspended because of “processes of militarization” in areas that are largely controlled by units of the FARC dissident organization.
EMC FARC
The suspension comes amid tensions between the National Army and EMC units in Argelia, a rural municipality in the southwestern Cauca province.
An army unit that had been sent to El Plateado left the township amid allegations they had overstayed their welcome in the aftermath of local elections that were held last week.
Locals detained the soldiers until they agreed to leave the area that is of major importance for the EMC’s drug trafficking practices in the Pacific region.
According to the military, the guerrillas coerced the locals into expelling the soldiers.
The government did not immediately respond to the unilateral suspension of the peace talks.
The president and guerrilla leader “Ivan Mordisco” announced the beginning of peace talks shortly after Petro took power in August last year.
A series of complications and disagreements delayed the formalization of peace talks, however.
The talks are meant to come to an agreement to dismantle the EMC and allow its members to take part in a peace process that was rejected by the dissident former members of the now-defunct guerrilla group FARC in 2016.