In an interview with Cubadebate, he stated they are totally separated from any kind of military operations; “neither by communications nor by command, we have anything to do with that, because that was the compromise we made with the two governments, Colombian and Cuban”.
We are in Havana on a peace mission, ELN negotiator assures
Regarding the Colombian government’s argument to request the extradition of some of the members of the delegation following the attack, Beltran explained they arrived in Cuba in May 2018 and when the new government was inaugurated they were told to stay in Cuba, look at what the other government had left and restart.
He stated there are no members of the General Staff of the guerrilla organization in Havana, and added the military leader of the ELN is Antonio Garcia, who was in Havana for negotiations, but 15 years ago.
As a result of this attack on the Cadet School, on January 17, 2019, killing 22 students and the attacker himself, Colombian president Ivan Duque decided to break off peace talks with the ELN guerrillas and to reactivate the arrest warrants for the members of the delegation, in Cuba since May 2018.
The position of the Cuban authorities to respect the protocol of breaking off the talks between the Colombian government and the ELN, and the decision not to extradite the guerrillas, are used to question and manipulate Cuba’s role as guarantor of the peace process.
Last week, the Cuban government ratified its decision to maintain for the time being its status as guarantor of the implementation of the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army.
