Colombian President agrees to establish an independent commission to investigate rebel links to drug trafficking
Kyiv • UNN
Colombian President Gustavo Petro supported the ELN rebel group's initiative for an external audit of their activities. The goal is to prove the absence of direct involvement in drug trafficking, which could be a step towards a peaceful settlement.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has officially supported the initiative of the country's largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), to conduct an external audit of their activities. This was reported by AP, writes UNN.
Details
This decision was a response to the proposal of the militant leader Antonio García, who seeks to prove the absence of direct involvement of his subordinates in illegal drug trafficking. Such a step could become an important stage in the long process of peaceful settlement in the country, where armed conflicts have been financed for decades by the cocaine business.
Statements by rebel leaders and government conditions
A conflict of interest arose after the publication of a video message by Antonio García, in which he admitted to collecting taxes from cocaine traffickers but categorically denied control over laboratories or logistics routes. The rebel leader insists on a transparent audit to clear the organization of accusations of drug-related terrorist activities.
ELN has nothing to do with drug trafficking
President Petro, who had previously repeatedly called the ELN leadership "drug traffickers disguised as guerrillas," put forward his conditions for the future commission. According to the head of state, the audit should be purely scientific, completely independent of the political influence of any governments, and its results should be officially presented to the United Nations.
Strategy for replacing coca crops in the Catatumbo region
In addition to agreeing to the investigation, Gustavo Petro called on the rebels to demonstrate real commitment to the peace process through support for state programs. In particular, this refers to the replacement of coca plantations with legal agricultural crops in the northeastern Catatumbo region, which remains one of the centers of narcotic raw material production.