BOGOTA, Nov 19 — Colombia’s government and a delegation from the National Liberation Army (ELN) leftist guerrillas will resume peace talks suspended since 2019 starting Monday in Caracas, the parties announced Friday.

The resumption of negotiations "will be next Monday, November 21, in the afternoon in the city of Caracas,” read a statement posted to Twitter and signed by the Colombian High Commissioner for Peace, Danilo Rueda, and ELN peace delegation member Pablo Beltran.

Colombia has suffered more than half a century of armed conflict between the state and various groups of left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug traffickers.

President Gustavo Petro, who in August became Colombia’s first-ever leftist leader, has vowed to take a less bellicose approach to seeking an end to the violence wrought by armed groups.

The new talks were announced in October and were due to be hosted by Venezuela, Cuba and Norway on a rotating basis.

The ELN is the last recognised rebel group operating in Colombia, although FARC dissidents that refused to sign a 2016 peace deal remain active. — AFP