ELN News
Armed Groups in Colombia Target Children Amid Pandemic
Irregular armed groups in Colombia have ramped up their recruiting of poor young people, who find themselves even more vulnerable with schools shut down indefinitely to avoid the spread of the...
ELN Profile
ELN
The National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional - ELN) is one of the two main guerrilla armies with left-wing political ideologies operating in Colombia. Initially a Marxist-Leninist nationalist movement, it now appears more focused on kidnapping, extortion and attacks on economic infrastructure. And while it eschewed drug trafficking for decades, it has recently been linked to...
More ELN News
Brief /
US Pressure on Cuba to Extradite ELN Leaders Unlikely to Succeed
The US and Colombia's strategic alliance may seem stronger than ever after Washington blacklisted Cuba for refusing to extradite ELN leaders. But beyond this show...
Analysis /
What Does Coronavirus Mean for Criminal Governance in Latin America?
A number of criminal groups across Latin America are ordering ceasefires and exerting control over local communities as fears of the coronavirus sweep across the...
Analysis /
Rastrojos Under Siege at Colombia-Venezuela Border
The Colombian criminal group Los Rastrojos is fighting a two-front war: against ELN guerrillas looking to usurp the group's highly profitable operations along the...
Analysis /
ELN Showcases Unique Ability to Paralyze Parts of Colombia
For three days in mid-February, the ELN made a show of force, staging simultaneous operations across Colombia in a show of force, which also sent a clear message to...
Analysis /
Contraband Cheese From Venezuela on Colombia’s Criminal Menu
Cheese has increasingly joined oil and other commodities smuggled along the border between Colombia and Venezuela, and criminal groups are milking the...
Analysis /
Overview of Violence Against Social Leaders in Colombia
Social leaders across Colombia were murdered at an almost unprecedented rate in 2019, and for a wide range of causes. Criminal gangs seeking to protect their...
Analysis /
GameChangers 2019: 10 Predictions for Organized Crime in 2020
The year was one of political tumult, fed in no small part by organized crime and its favored weapon: corruption. The region appeared to take a step backwards...
Analysis /
GameChangers 2019: Latin America’s Top 10 Criminal Groups
Colombia’s last rebel army is now the most powerful criminal syndicate in Latin America, as it expands across Colombia and far into Venezuela, deepening its...
Analysis /
GameChangers 2019: Illegal Mining, Latin America’s Go-To Criminal Economy
The criminal, economic and political dynamics behind illegal gold rushes this past year in Venezuela and Ecuador were very different. But both countries illustrate...