Erika Moreno, professor of political science and international relations at Creighton University: “Although Colombia has struggled to find peaceful resolution to a complex internal conflict that has raged for more than half a century, the 2016 peace accords provided a new hope to those who sought an end to decades of violence. However, a failed referendum and uneven approaches to peace negotiations have left the state searching for new ways to achieve peace with armed actors such as the Cuban-inspired National Liberation Army, or ELN. Recent efforts to resume bilateral peace talks between the ELN and the state were triggered by President Petro’s vision of creating a national peace strategy that could create a path for current ELN combatants to quickly return to civilian life. However, the ELN appears to prefer a broader discussion to address deep-seated concerns surrounding the nation’s democratic development and the need for social justice. So, while Petro sees this moment as apt for folding the ELN into a national pacification process that it had been excluded from in prior years, the ELN prefers to…”