[1] These individuals believed they represented the majority of Colombians: individuals with economic, political, and social grievances fueled by exclusion by the state.

Garcia is also one of the ELN’s negotiators, and his arrest warrant was nullified in 2006 to allow him to participate in peace talks with the government.

N.p. N.d. 11 March 2019. Crisis Group. Offensives by both the military and paramilitary groups escalated, and according to the military reduced the group to less that 1,500 in 2012, but to no avail. N.p. 29 July 2015. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-32731754, [15] “Colombia’s ELN rebels likely behind Bogota blasts – president.” Reuters. http://www.peacebuilding.no/var/ezflow_site/storage/original/application... [18] Buitrago, Sair. Together, kidnapping and extortion became the ELN’s primary source of revenue, bringing in $225 million in 1998 alone.

Web. [13] Mirroring concerns about the ELN’s relationship with Maduro’s government, Venezuelan lawmakers have worried about an alleged relationship between the ELN and the Venezuelan armed forces, the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB). The group has been at war with the state since 1964. 08 May 2019. Web. N.p. Web. Web. Web. Leadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations, Ideology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets, and Tactics, First Attacks, Largest Attacks, Notable Attacks, Foreign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences, Mapping relationships with other militant groups over time, First Attack: January 7, 1965: The ELN seized Simacota, a small town in Santander. La Silla Vacía. [13] The goal of these negotiations was not only the disarmament and demobilization the ELN, but also the implementation of political and socio-economic change on the part of the government. Caracol Radio. 23 July 2015. http://colombiajournal.org/colombia25.htm; “National Liberation Army (Colombia).” Terrorist Organization Profile. BBC.

Web. 7 July 2019. https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/3de73bfd4.pdf, [12] Ambassador Andrés Valencia Benavides. Crisis Group.

President Santos halted the government’s peace negotiations with the ELN following the attack, and he recalled the government’s delegation from Quito, Ecuador. Dow Jones & Company. 22 October 2012. Below the COCE is the National Directorate; its 23 members serve as the point people between the COCE and the ELN’s Fronts. [7] More recently, Cuba has supported the ELN politically. August 2013. Some argue that Colombian President Pastrana was more interested in negotiating with the FARC than with the ELN and that this preference may have led to the failure of the 2001 peace talks. BBC News. Web. Eighty-four were released soon after, and five shortly after that. Now seeking an end to over 50 years of violence, the ELN has been involved in peace talks with the Colombian government, with rounds in 2014 and 2017. Frentes de Guerra. 10 January 2019. N.p. Arenas intended to publish a book exposing the ELN’s internal purges, militarism, and sectarianism. 28 February 2019. [6] The ELN has continued to kidnap for profit in more recent years, even having publicly refused to stop kidnapping in 2012. The group has been at war with the state since 1964. [5] "Gold and Grief in Venezuela's Violent South." Web. Web. Web. “ELN.” COLOMBIA REPORTS. In the ELN’s formative years, Cuba provided the group with weapons and financial support. The ELN believed that kidnapping was anti-revolutionary, and ELN leader Priest Manuel Perez vehemently opposed entering the drug trade for ideological reasons. Originally, the group did not engage in kidnapping and drug trafficking. "Colombia Asks Cuba to Capture ELN Leaders after Attack on Police..." Reuters. Powered by Digitale Zaken and Parrolabs, ELN sign at the National University in Bogota (Image: Parker Crooks). In response, the FARC’s chief commander, Timochenko, released a statement on the FARC’s website in May 2015 calling for the inclusion of the ELN in the negotiations. 23 July 2015. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8066191.stm, [7] García-Peña, Daniel. [5], Cuba has supported the ELN both financially and politically. N.p. Web.

Web. 24 May 2009.

Web. [3] "ELN." 29 July 2015. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/484391.stm. 4 October 2002. “ELN rebel group makes a comeback in Colombia.” Christian Science Monitor. N.p. While the ELN had previously shied away from kidnapping for ideological reasons, under Gabino and Perez’s new leadership, it started kidnapping politicians and wealthy landowners for revenue in order to rebuild the group. 28 February 2019. The ELN suffered from internal conflict and faced new external threats. 27 July 2016. http://colombiajournal.org/colombia41.htm; Hanson, Stephanie. 10 January 2019. January 7, 1965: The ELN seized Simacota, a small town in Santander. "'People Are Tired of War, Including Us'-A Rare Interview With Colombia's ELN Commander."

N.p. [11] "Mining Massacre Signals ELN Expansion Into Venezuela." BBC News. “Colombia’s ELN rebels show new vigour.” BBC. 3 July 2015. http://www.peacebuilding.no/var/ezflow_site/storage/original/application/6fbc91d2529b493119d3d26a1be9b6e6.pdf; [15] “Acuerdo de dialogos para la paz de Colombia entre el Gobierno Nacional y el Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional” March 2016.  https://www.eltiempo.com/contenido/politica/proceso-de-paz/ARCHIVO/ARCHIVO-16549986-0.pdf, [16] García-Peña, Daniel. The ELN had its headquarters in the Bolivar province until 2000, when the AUC seized ELN territory. N.p.

Web 30 July 2015. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2011/0628/... [6] Wight, Andrew. Noticias Caracol. Bonito oversees the ELN’s extensive illegal mining operations in the region.[28]. Web. Talking to Terrorists : Concessions and the Renunciation of Violence. "'People Are Tired of War, Including Us'-A Rare Interview With Colombia's ELN Commander." [20], The ceasefire between the ELN and the Colombian government ended in January 2019, with the change in power from President Santos to President Duque. 10 January 2019. Pablito is the newest member of the Central Command. Crisis Group. Although the ELN and the GNB have acted as unofficial allies since Chavez’s government, there were clashes between the two groups in 2018. London: Routledge, 2010. "'People Are Tired of War, Including Us'-A Rare Interview With Colombia's ELN Commander." [2] “Colombia’s Peace Process: Multiple Negotiations, Multiple Actors.” Latin American Program Special Report, Latin American Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/03/13/us-colombia-uribe-idUSN1329827... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46940593, https://nacla.org/article/national-liberation-army-eln-creates-different-peace-proces, https://lasillavacia.com/el-eln-y-las-disidencias-estan-coordinadas-69119, https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/eln-urabenos-dispute-intensifies-over-control-of-bojaya-colombia/, https://www.fundaredes.org/2019/05/09/boletin011-colectivos-armados-trasladaron-su-violencia-a-poblaciones-venezolanas-en-frontera-con-colombia/, https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/guerrilla-trained-colectivo-threatens-humanitarian-aid-venezuela/, https://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201410/what-liberation-theology-29433, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/en-espanol/sdhoy-eln-asks-catholic-church-to-mediate-cease-fire-2015nov02-story.html, https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sc13017.doc.htm.

[1], October 13, 1998: The ELN’s Jose Antonio Galan Front blew up a pipeline in the Department of Antioquia (45+ killed, 70+ wounded). N.d. During the ELN’s early years, Cuba supported the group financially by providing weapons to ELN militants. [8] ELN members, who were mostly working, wage-earning people, provided donations. 23 July 2015. http://colombiareports.com/guerilla-group-declares-war-oil-companies/, [4] “ELN.” InSight Crime. According to Amnesty International, the group’s sub-units are “loosely united under a central authority.”[4] In addition to its seven fronts, the ELN also has urban militias in some of Colombia’s major cities. 01 July 2019. https://www.insightcrime.org/colombia-organized-crime-news/eln-profile/. All Rights Reserved. 31 July 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/apr/28/features11.g23; Borkan, Brett. 10 August 2015. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/12/AR2008031202036.html, [4] “National Liberation Army (Colombia).” Terrorist Organization Profile. Web. [13] “Eliecer Erlinto Chamorro, alias ‘Antonio Garcia.’” InSight Crime. Web. N.p. Web. The ELN’s steady growth was halted in 1973 when a government military offensive almost eliminated the group in its entirety; 135 of the 200 members, including founders Fabio and Manuel Vásquez Castaño, were killed. In April 2008, the ELN renounced Galán’s status as spokesperson and member of the negotiating team because his actions in negotiations with the Colombian government were not representative of the ELN.

[4], The ELN’s community involvement is not limited to its engagement with the Colombian populace. National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism – University of Maryland.

28 June 2011. Web. 31 July 2015. https://economia.uniandes.edu.co/images/archivos/pdfs/Articulos_Revista_... [7] "State Sponsors: Cuba."