Colombia, ELN rebels start peace talks, hoping to end six decades of war

Members of Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) delegation Silvana Guerrero, Aureliano Carbonell and Pablo Beltran, Venezuelan official Carlos Martinez Mendoza, Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace Ivan Danilo Rueda, Head of the Colombian Government negotiating team Otty Patino and Colombian Senators Ivan Cepeda and Senator Maria Jose Pizarro attend a news conference after renewed peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels began, in Caracas, Venezuela November 21, 2022. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

CARACAS (Reuters) - Negotiators from the Colombian government and leftist guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) began peace talks on Monday, the first major step in President Gustavo Petro's efforts to end nearly 60 years of war.

Petro, a former member of the M-19 insurgency who took office in August, has promised to bring "total peace" to Colombia by negotiating with rebels and crime gangs involved in drug trafficking and illegal mining.