Both sides, which started talks 15 months ago in Quito, said on Thursday they wanted to focus on reaching a new ceasefire deal. Their first agreement ended in January and was followed by a period of increased violence and a 6-week pause in talks.
Colombia’s conflict between the government, rebel groups, paramilitaries and crime gangs has killed at least 220,000 people and displaced millions.
"We are conscious that we need to make decisive steps and the time has arrived to finalize a stable and more robust bilateral ceasefire," the Colombian government's chief negotiator Gustavo Bell said.
Colombia has been at war with the National Liberation Army (ELN), founded by radical Catholic priests, since 1964.
Cuba was also the host for the 4-year long negotiations between the Andean country's government and the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaFARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a drug cartel based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and
donations. It has lately begun calling itself
Bolivarianand is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border.
(FARC) rebels who reached a peace accord in 2016.