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Colombia extends cease-fire with National Liberation Army as ELN rebels promise to stop kidnappings
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FILE - Colombian President Gustavo Petro holds a ceremony to formally begin a six-month cease-fire as part of a process to forge permanent peace with the National Liberation Army (ELN) in Bogota, Colombia, Aug. 3, 2023. Colombia’s government has extended a cease-fire with the FARC-EMC rebel group that was set to expire in Jan. 2024, as both sides hold peace talks in Bogota in an effort to reduce violence in rural parts of the country. - photo by AP Photo/Ivan Valencia, File
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government and the nation’s largest remaining guerrilla group have reached a last-minute deal to extend a cease-fire that began last year by six months, with ELN rebels also promising that they will stop kidnapping civilians for ransom. The truce was set to expire on Tuesday. But in a brief statement issued just minutes before midnight, both sides said that they have extended the cease-fire for 180 days.