| Workers Revolutionary Party of Colombia | |
| Colorcode: |
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| Foundation: | 1982 |
| Country: | Colombia |
| Abbreviation: | PRT |
| Dissolved: | 1991 |
| Split: | Tendencia ML |
| Position: | Far-left |
| National: | CGSB |
| Wing1 Title: | Labour wing |
| Wing1: | CIS |
Workers Revolutionary Party of Colombia (Spanish; Castilian: Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores de Colombia) was a political party in Colombia. The party was founded in 1982.[1] It emerged from the 'Majority' faction of the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Tendency, a group that had broken away from the Communist Party of Colombia (Marxist-Leninist) in the mid-1970s.[2]
PRT launched armed struggle against government forces. According to official sources, when the PRT militias were demobilized in 1991 the party had around 200 fighters.[3]
Apart from its armed struggle PRT maintained an open mass front, the trade union organization Corriente de Integración Sindical.
In 1984 PRT entered into the 'Trilateral', a cooperation between the National Liberation Army (ELN), the Revolutionary Integration Movement - Free Fatherland (MIR-PL) and PRT. Amongst other things, the Trilateral resulted in coordination of mass movement activities, leading up the formation of ¡A Luchar! as a joint mass movement. On June 20, 1985, PRT took part in, along with ¡A Luchar!, organizing a national general strike against the policies of the Belisario Betancur government. At the time the National Guerrilla Coordination was born, a coalition consisting of ELN, Popular Liberation Army (EPL), M-19, MIR-PL, Armed Movement Quintín Lame (MAQL), Commando Ricardo Franco (RF) and PRT. With the entry of FARC-EP into the unity work of Colombian guerrilla movements, the National Guerrilla Coordination evolved into the Coordinadora Guerrillera Simón Bolívar in September 1987. Founding members of CGSB were EPL, UC-ELN, FARC-EP, MAQL, M-19 and PRT.[4] [5]
In December 1990, president Virgilio Barco expressed willingness to hold peace talks with PRT.[6] Talks were initiated between the Colombian government and PRT. On December 28 an accord was signed between the government and PRT. On January 25, 1991, a final peace treaty was signed in Don Gabriel, Ovejas municipality, Sucre, between the government and PRT. It stipulated, amongst other things, that:
On behalf of the PRT the peace treaty was signed by Valentín González, Sergio Sierra, Pablo Roncallo, Rafael González and Ernesto Falla.[8]
The weaponry of PRT was destroyed at a ceremony on January 26.
Even though the peace treaty specified that PRT would reorganize themselves as a legal political party, such a move never occurred. Instead some members of PRT joined M-19. Rather than organizing party work, PRT cadres became active in social organizations, primarily focus on human rights and peace promotion, in Bolívar and Sucre.[9]