Colombia's government, ELN guerrillas complete first round of talks

Pablo Beltran, head of the leftist guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN), and Otty Patino, head of the negotiation team of the Colombian Government, attend a news conference after holding the last round of peace talks with Colombia's government for this year, in Caracas, Venezuela December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

CARACAS (Reuters) - Representatives of Colombia's government and of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas completed the first round of peace talks in Venezuela's capital Caracas on Monday, with the next round of negotiations to take place in Mexico.

The two sides restarted peace talks on Nov. 21 with the intention of ending the ELN's part in Colombia's almost six decades of armed conflict, which has left at least 450,000 dead.