Colombia considers suspending EMC ceasefire after bombings: defense minister

By Luis Jaime Acosta

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian President Gustavo Petro is considering whether to completely suspend a ceasefire with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) rebel group, Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez said on Tuesday, after two bombings attributed to the group in the southeastern province of Cauca.

The explosions occurred on Monday in the cities of Jamundi and Morales. The Morales bomb killed four people, including two police officers.

“It has been the subject of consideration and discussion and is still the subject of analysis,” Velasquez told reporters. “The president is weighing all the elements we provide and ultimately he will decide when and where there will be a ceasefire or not.”

The 3,500-strong EMC are rebels who rejected a groundbreaking 2016 peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), formerly the country’s largest guerrilla organization.

Petro has promised to end the 60-year conflict that has killed 450,000 people through new peace deals, but faces significant hurdles, including difficult negotiations with the EMC that began last year.

The EMC began peace talks with the Petro government last year, but Petro partially suspended a ceasefire with them in three provinces in March due to violence.

The group has set up a pseudo-state in parts of southern Colombia, building roads and schools, further complicating talks.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta, Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb)