Colombian President Gustavo Petro suspended peace talks with the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN), on Friday, after accusing the group of committing a war crime in the Catatumbo region.

More than 80 people were killed in the country’s northeast over the weekend following the government’s failed attempts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro halted peace talks with the ELN after they allegedly committed a war crime, killing over 30 people, including former FARC rebels. The violence has displaced civilians and strained already challenging peace negotiations.

Colombia has suspended peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, for a second time in less than a year after blaming the rebel group for violence that has been affecting the northeastern

It is the second time in less than a year that Colombian authorities halt peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, after blaming the rebel group for recent violence in the northeastern region of Tibu.

Colombia’s government suspended peace talks with the world’s oldest guerrilla movement after a series of massacres spread terror in one of the group’s heartlands.

"The dialogue process with this group is suspended, the ELN has no will for peace,” President Gustavo Petro said on his X account. The ELN has been fighting with ex-rebels of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group,

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Friday that he was suspending peace negotiations with National Liberation Army guerrillas after a day of violence between armed groups in the northeast that left at least 30 people dead.