 "A mural with the images of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) late leader and founder Manuel Marulanda Velez (L) and Miguel Botache Santillana, alias Gentil Duarte, late leader of one of the structures of the dissidence of the extinct FARC, is seen in Teorama municipality, Catatumbo region, Norte de Santander department, Colombia, on January 23, 2025. AFP")
Colombia has launched a military offensive against leftist guerillas blamed for a week of bloody violence on the border with Venezuela, Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez said Friday.
“There has already been a first battle between the army and members of the National Liberation Army (ELN)… The order is to take over the territory,” Velasquez said from the border city of Cucuta, adding that more than 9,000 troops are deployed in the area.
Colombia is struggling to contain violence in the mountainous northeastern Catatumbo region, where a 5,800-strong ELN has targeted rival armed groups and their alleged sympathizers.
The ELN is trying to assert control over a swath of the border region that is home to plantations and trafficking routes which provide much of the world’s cocaine.
The offensive has killed at least 80 people, while dozens more have been kidnapped and tens of thousands have been displaced, according to government and United Nations estimates.
The violence has plunged Colombia into one of its worst security crises in years while shattering government hopes of peacefully disarming one of the country’s most powerful militias.