President Gustavo Petro said he will accept a proposal by Colombia’s largest
remaining rebel group to allow an independent commission to investigate its
alleged links to the drug trade.

The proposal was made in a video published on Jan. 20 video by Antonio
Garcia, the head of the National Liberation Army.

In the video Garcia said that while the rebels impose a tax on cocaine
traders, they do not run any drug trafficking routes or cocaine labs.

The group’s alleged relation to drug trafficking was one of the issues that
stopped peace talks from advancing in the first two years of the Petro
administration.

In a message on X Sunday, Petro said he would accept the proposal, adding
that the agency that verifies the rebel's claims should be scientific and
independent of governments, and should deliver its findings to the United
Nations.

Petro also urged the rebels to back efforts to replace coca crops in the
northeastern Catatumbo region.