Colombia extends cease-fire with National Liberation Army as ELN rebels promise to stop kidnappings

Colombia’s government and the nation’s largest remaining guerrilla group have reached a last-minute deal to extend a cease-fire that began last year by six months

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Colombia’s government and the nation’s largest remaining guerrilla group have reached a last-minute deal to extend a cease-fire that began last year by six months, with ELN rebels also promising that they will stop kidnapping civilians for ransom.

The truce was set to expire on Tuesday. But in a brief statement issued just minutes before midnight, both sides said that they have extended the cease-fire for 180 days.

The statement says the National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish acronym ELN, will “temporarily and unilaterally suspend economic detentions” in order to contribute to the cease-fire.

Government officials said they were pleased with the new terms of the cease-fire.

“Many of the peace deals that have been signed in this country have had little impact on the ground,” Otty Patiño, Colombia’s peace commissioner, told local radio station Blu. “It is very important to work on territorial peace.”