Colombia's ELN open to talks with new president, but says it can survive military offensive

JUNGLE OF CHOCO PROVINCE, COLOMBIA June 17 - Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels are willing to seek peace with whoever wins Sunday's presidential runoff, but are also confident they can survive a renewed military offensive promised by the right-wing frontrunner, the commander of one of the group's fronts told Reuters deep in the dense green jungle of Colombia's northwest.

Colombians will choose a successor to leftist President Gustavo Petro, who tried but failed to ink major peace deals with armed groups. Petro's ally Ivan Cepeda has promised to continue the strategy to end the country's more than 60 years of internal conflict, but is trailing in the polls behind right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella, who has pledged a crackdown on illegal armed groups like the ELN.

The ELN, which is nearing its 62nd anniversary, is ready in either scenario, said the commander of the Western War Front, who uses the nom de guerre 'Yerson', when a Reuters team visited his unit deep in Choco province after traveling for several hours by boat along various rivers.

“If whoever arrives at the Casa de Narino (presidential palace) invites dialogue and opens that space, the ELN will always be willing. If not, we will continue in confrontation,” Yerson said, sitting on a fallen tree trunk with his rifle across his legs amid a torrential rain.

Though the group might suffer under increased military operations against them, they will not disappear, said Yerson, clad in a balaclava and an ELN scarf.

“We have 62 years of experience in both offense and defense, and we will apply it, as we always have,” he said. “All governments have tried to hit us hard, and we have known how to adapt to different war contexts — that is how we have advanced. The ELN will not disappear because of a strong offensive, you can be completely sure of that.”

The group, which has more than 6,000 members between armed fighters and unarmed support, has held peace talks with various governments since 1991, but failed to reach any final agreement due to a diffuse chain of command and internal disagreements between fronts, which can complicate negotiations, security sources say, as well as its hardline positions on land reform, the departure of extractive companies, and disarmament.

Yerson denied any internal division, saying the group is completely unified and accusations to the contrary are part of a state strategy to discredit its armed struggle.

He also insisted any future peace deal must benefit the poor. A 2016 peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels includes land reform provisions and other efforts meant to help rural populations, but those are the least implemented parts of the deal, according to a 2025 annual analysis by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.

KIDNAPPINGS WILL CONTINUE

Petro, his predecessors and Colombia's security forces say the ELN funds itself through drug trafficking and illegal gold mining, particularly in areas like Choco, where other armed groups, including the Clan del Golfo crime gang — founded by former right-wing paramilitaries — fight the ELN for territorial control.

Yerson denied ELN involvement in production or trafficking of cocaine, but acknowledged the group taxes drug traffickers and individuals and companies linked to mining, transport and cattle ranching in areas where it operates.

Kidnappings — which Yerson referred to as “economic detentions” — will continue as a funding source for the group.

“That is a cornerstone — if we allow ourselves to be broken economically, we will not be able to survive,” he said.

The ELN has grown in numbers, expanded territorial control and modernized its weaponry — including attack drones — under the current government, as under previous ones, Yerson said.

That assertion is backed up by an internal government security report seen by Reuters last year, which showed armed groups have added thousands of members and expanded their territory during the Petro administration.

Authorities accused the group of human rights violations like murder, forced disappearances and forced displacements, and it has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

Yerson said the ELN would be "on the side of the people" if there are street protests against a potential new right-wing government.

The government has also regularly accused armed groups of recruiting young people to commit acts of violence during otherwise peaceful anti-government marches. REUTERS