The largest remaining rebel group in Colombia has called for a "national accord” to overcome political conflicts in the South American country, at a time when the National Liberation Army (ANO) faces the prospect of attacks from the Colombian and US governments, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
In a statement published yesterday in "Ex", the group said that after Colombia's elections this year, the group announced that it would like to work with the country's new government to draft agreements aimed at overcoming poverty, protecting ecosystems and "overcoming" the drug trade in rural areas.
The statement came after reports that The Colombian and U.S. governments are looking for ways to conduct joint operations against the group, which Colombian President Gustavo Petro has described as "drug traffickers disguised as guerrillas," the AP notes.
The pressure on the ANO has intensified since the beginning of this month, when the United States captured former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and transferred him to the United States to stand trial with his wife, Cilia Flores, on charges of narcoterrorism and cocaine trafficking.
The indictment against Maduro in the New York case states that he provided protection to the ANO on Venezuelan territory and collaborated with the group in cocaine trafficking.
Following the U.S. operation on Jan. 3, Colombian authorities have taken steps to weaken the group's position in Venezuela.
Last week, Colombian Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said that President Petro and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the ANO and its role in drug trafficking during a phone call that eased tensions between the two leaders. According to Benedetti, the presidents discussed the possibility of joint operations against the rebel organization.
In an interview with Colombian radio station "Blu", Benedetti said that "the issue (for the ANO) is that they should be attacked when they withdraw" to the camps in Venezuela.
Petro said in a statement published in "Ex" that the ANO must abandon drug trafficking and the recruitment of minors if peace talks are to resume. The president also called on the rebel group to stop using the camps in Venezuela or face "joint actions" that would include the Venezuelan government. government.
The Colombian government suspended peace talks with the ANO last year after the group launched an offensive in the northeastern Catatumbo region that forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes.