Colombian government announces bilateral ceasefire with FARC dissident group

(CNN) — The Colombian government announced the start of a bilateral ceasefire with the FARC dissident group known as the Central Staff, according to a joint statement from the Ministry of Defense and the office of the High Commissioner for Peace.

CNN has not been able to contact the FARC dissidents to obtain their position on this statement.

The initiation of the bilateral ceasefire with the Central General Staff is added to the government’s so-called “total peace” strategy and is consistent with the announcement that President Gustavo Petro made on December 31 of bilateral ceasefires with various armed groups illegal.

The ELN guerrilla did not accept this unilateral announcement by the State and has said, through its spokespersons, that the issue will be discussed within the framework of the second round of talks that will take place in Mexico.

There are currently several armed groups, including drug trafficking sectors, that have accepted the measure announced by the government.

However, the Ombudsman’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office have denounced permanent non-compliance by these groups in various regions of the country, such as the departments of Arauca, Nariño, Cauca and Antioquia.

The statement issued this Wednesday by the government highlights that the public force will be able to continue acting where there are disturbances of public order and that the bilateral ceasefire with the FARC dissidents will have a verification mechanism.