Colombia to create three guerrilla demobilization zones – Colombia News

Colombia’s government and two FARC dissident groups agreed to create at least three temporary locations for guerrillas who wish to take part in demobilization, disarmament and reintegration programs.

The creation of the so-called Temporary Location Zones (ZUT) is the result of ongoing talks with the EMBF and the CNEB as part of the Total Peace policy of the government of President Gustavo Petro.

On Friday, the president decreed the creation of a ZUT in Tibu, a municipality in the northeastern Catatumbo region, as part of efforts to demobilize the EMBF’s 33th Front, which operates in that region.

On Sunday, Petro’s peace commissioner announced two similar locations for what is believed to be the final stage of peace talks with the CNEB.

One of these ZUT will be located in Roberto Payan, a municipality in the southwestern Nariño province. The other one will be created at a yet to be defined location in Putumayo.

The EMBF initially was part of the EMC, but split from this FARC dissident organization because of an internal split over peace talks with the Petro administration.

Something similar happened with the CNEB, which used to be part of FARC dissident group “Segunda Marquetalia,” until its commander decided to suspend peace negotiations.

Since the split from their organizations, both the EMBF and the CNEB have been negotiating peace with the government independently.

These peace talks are among the most advanced of all negotiations that were started as part of Petro’s total Peace policy, and could have major effects on the regions where the FARC dissidents are active.

As part of the talks that will continue inside the ZUT, the government and the guerrillas will negotiate what they call territorial transformation, which seeks to prevent the resurgence of guerrilla groups in the regions that have long been neglected by the State.