Weekly Report - 05 May 2016 (WR-16-17)

Peace talks between the government led by President Juan Manuel Santos and the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), Colombia’s second guerrilla group, are off before they have even formally begun. The interior minister, Juan Fernando Cristo, accused the ELN of “living on another planet” after its maximum leader, ‘Gabino’ (Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista), ruled out releasing all of the group’s hostages. This followed the revelation that far from unconditionally releasing a prominent political hostage on 3 April to coincide with the announcement of formal talks with the government, the ELN had demanded an exchange.