Colombia, ELN rebels likely to hold emergency meeting in Caracas-negotiator

FILE PHOTO: Danilo Rueda, Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace, Pablo Beltran, head of the leftist guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN), and Otty Patino, head of the negotiation team of the Colombian Government, attend a news conference after holding the last round of peace talks with Colombia's government for this year, in Caracas, Venezuela December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group could hold an emergency meeting in Caracas as early as this week, the head of the government negotiating team said on Tuesday.

Colombia declared and then called off a bilateral ceasefire with the group last week after the ELN said it had not agreed to the move. The government blamed a misunderstanding of the ELN's position for the about-face.