Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said Monday that “a peace process begins” with the largest guerrilla organization of FARC dissidents.

On Twitter, Petro specified that there will be formal negotiations between the government and the “General Central Command” (EMC) of guerrilla leader “Ivan Mordisco.”

The EMC controls two guerrilla organizations, the so-called “Southeastern Bloc” and the “Western Coordinating Command.”

Both organizations confirmed in January that they would be upholding a six-month bilateral ceasefire with the security forces.

The guerrillas did not immediately confirm the peace process and the government did not immediately announce specifics about the announced talks.

Guerrilla violence in northeast Colombia persists despite ceasefire

More arrest warrants lifted

FARC dissident commander “Ivan Mordisco”

Petro made the announcement after the Prosecutor General’s Office lifted 19 warrants to arrest the delegates of the dissidents of the FARC, the guerrilla organization that demobilized and disarmed in 2017.

Prosecutor General Francisco Barbosa agreed to lift the arrest warrants of three FARC dissident leaders in January in order to facilitate preliminary negotiations about mechanisms that would allow the peace talks and the monitoring of the ceasefire.

Colombia suspends arrest warrants for dissident FARC guerrillas

Progress with other guerrillas

FARC dissident “Ivan Marquez” (Image: Twitter)

If confirmed, the talks with the EMC will be held parallel to formal peace talks with guerrilla group ELN that resumed after a four-year suspension in November last year.

The first two rounds of these talks have been held in Venezuela and Mexico. The next round is expected to be held in Cuba.

The Petro administration has also been holding preliminary talks with a third FARC dissident organization, the “Segunda Marquetalia” of the FARC’s former political leader “Ivan Marquez.”

The security forces also suspended attacks against this guerrilla organization in January in order to facilitate the formalization of these talks.

Colombia’s FARC dissidents captured 5 soldiers during ceasefire: military

Paramilitary problems

AGC paramilitaries (Image: YouTube)

The government and two paramilitary organizations, the AGC and “Los Pachenca,” also announced ceasefires, but have yet to meet for preliminary talks.

This delay is due to Barbosa, who has rejected government requests to lift the arrest warrants of the AUC dissident groups.

In an attempt to by pass the chief prosecutor’s apparent sabotage attempts, the AGC announced last week that it had hired lawyers to negotiate with the government on their behalf.

Paramilitaries appoint lawyers to negotiate “Total Peace” with Colombia’s government

Petro’s Total Peace plans

Petro’s attempts to negotiate the demobilization and disarmament of the guerrillas and paramilitary organizations is part of his administration’s “Total Peace” policy.

This peace policy seeks to involve illegal armed groups that are still in arms in the peace process with the FARC, which demobilized and disarmed in 2017.

This peace process has failed to prevent a resurgence of violence, mainly in areas that used to be controlled by the FARC, over the past years.