BOGOTÁ, Colombia — President Gustavo Petro of Colombia issued a stern warning on Monday that the country’s military would engage in offensive operations against the National Liberation Army (ELN) following a series of violent attacks in the northeast that have resulted in numerous fatalities and the evacuation of thousands from their homes.
“The ELN has chosen the path of war, and that’s exactly what they will encounter,” Petro communicated through a post on X. He accused the rebels of morphing into a drug trafficking organization and drew comparisons between their tactics and those of Pablo Escobar, the notorious drug lord known for his violent reign that included bombings and hiring hitmen to eliminate adversaries.
Having once participated in a guerrilla group during his youth, Petro had initiated conversations for peace with the ELN in 2022. He had made a commitment during his presidential campaign to encourage the rebels to demobilize within three months after assuming office.
However, the peace negotiations have faced a stalemate due to various disagreements on disarmament procedures and economic reforms the government would provide in exchange for the rebels’ laydown of arms. The ELN has expressed discontent regarding the government’s separate talks with a splinter faction in the southwest and has frustrated officials with ongoing civilian kidnappings and business extortions.
On Friday, Petro made the decision to halt discussions with the ELN as violence surged in Catatumbo, a mountainous area known for producing about 15% of Colombia’s coca crop and situated on the Venezuela border.
Reports indicate that the ELN, consisting of around 6,000 fighters, targeted civilians they accused of colluding with a rival faction, the FARC-EMC. Eyewitness accounts suggest that rebels forcibly removed individuals from their homes and executed them in the streets, while armed clashes erupted between both groups in rural areas.
In a statement released on Monday, ELN leader Antonio García claimed that the group does not intend to harm civilians; rather, they are focused on former rebel members who are now allegedly cooperating with the FARC-EMC.
Over the weekend, a mass exodus of residents from towns in the Catatumbo region unfolded, with thousands fleeing due to safety concerns, including community leaders who had received threats from the ELN. Among those escaping were former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, who had disarmed in accordance with a 2016 peace accord and are now endangered by the ELN’s resurgence.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs revealed on Monday that the fresh outbreak of violence has displaced approximately 18,300 individuals, who are currently taking refuge in shelters and hotels in Tibu, Ocaña, and Cúcuta, where there are warnings of an impending humanitarian crisis.
According to the governor of the Norte de Santander Department, which encompasses the Catatumbo region, the recent clashes have claimed at least 80 lives in the past week.
In an interview, Sandra Tijaro shared her experience of fleeing her village on Friday when armed men arrived directing residents to evacuate. She is now residing with her children in a shelter in Tibu. “We want the armed groups to consider the welfare of rural individuals,” she said. “We are industrious people who unfortunately bear the burden of this conflict.”
The 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia facilitated the demobilization of around 11,000 fighters. Nonetheless, this deal inadvertently created a power vacuum in certain rural areas that various smaller rebel factions have sought to exploit, leaving the government grappling with the challenge of safeguarding civilians against rising violence.
