Colombia’s government and rebels from the National Liberation Army have agreed to revive a stalled peace effort, providing a boost to President Juan Manuel Santos as he tries to recover from voters’ shocking rejection of a deal with the much-larger FARC guerrilla group.
The rebels and government officials said Monday that formal peace talks would begin Oct. 27 in Ecuador. In a brief statement from Venezuela, whose socialist government is co-sponsoring the peace process, the guerrilla group known as the ELN committed itself to freeing two captives it has been holding for months before the talks begin. Additional unspecified humanitarian actions on both sides would also take place.
