Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said Wednesday that he had replaced Peace Commissioner Danilo Rueda.
Otty Patiño, the government’s lead negotiator in peace talks with guerrilla group ELN, will replace Rueda.
Patiño will have to recover confidence in the government’s “Total Peace” policy, which seeks to negotiate an end to violence caused by multiple illegal armed groups.
“Rueda was untenable after the bad results at the negotiation tables and the unacceptable concessions” to the illegal armed groups, according to opposition House Representative Andres Forero of the far-right Democratic Center party.
According to House Representative Cathy Juvinao of the coalition Green Alliance party, the change in management provides “an opportunity for the reengineering of Total Peace.”
Juvinao had asked Rueda to resign earlier this month.
Colombia’s peace commissioner under fire over guerrilla incidents
The incoming peace commissioner will have to restore confidence in the peace talks with the ELN and the EMC, a group formed by dissidents of the now-defunct guerrilla group FARC.
Patiño will also have to coordinate urban peace processes in the cities of Medellin and Buenaventura and convince other illegal armed groups to negotiate peace with the government.
Petro announced talks with more than 10 illegal armed groups after taking office in August last year.
Talks with paramilitary organization AGC broke down earlier this year and the status of talks with groups like “Nueva Marquetalia” and “Los Pachenca” is unknown to the public.
The multiple talks are meant to recover progress made by a peace deal with the FARC that was signed by the former guerrillas and former President Juan Manuel Santos in 2016.
This peace process has failed to produce significant results because of increased violence by other guerrilla groups and paramilitary forces formed by former members of the ow-defunct paramilitary organization AUC.
