On Friday, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos condemned the attack on soldiers in the country’s eastern Arauca region. The attack killed one soldier and injured three more.
Santos authorized the military to bring those responsible to justice.
“I condemn the assassination of our soldier John Giraldo by ELN in Arauca. Condolences to his family. The armed forces have orders to punish those responsible”, he wrote on Twitter.
Condeno asesinato del soldado John Giraldo por parte de Eln en Arauca. Condolencias a su famila. FF.AA tienen orden de que culpables caigan
— Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) June 16, 2017
The event happened on Thursday night in the city of Tame, Arauca, when military units were crossing a bridge and the rebels detonated improvised explosive artifacts. Tame is located in the eastern part of Colombia, on the border with Venezuela,
The soldier killed was later identified as John Giraldo. The three injured soldiers are recovering in local area facility.
Within hours of the attack, Colombian soldiers captured four ELN rebels and accepted the surrender of 7 more who decided to demobilize.
The government and ELN, with around 1500 fighters according to official numbers, began talks last February to overcome the half century dispute. The negotiations are ongoing despite active armed conflict between the two sides.
Santos seeks to complete a peace deal with the ELN after the landmark signing in November of an agreement with the FARC, the longest conflict in the continent.
