ELN News
Colombia and Venezuela: Criminal Siamese Twins
Colombia and Venezuela have shared criminal dynamics for decades. Colombia has pushed cocaine through Venezuela on its journey to US and European markets, while Venezuela’s contraband fuel has gushed in the other direction. But today the criminal links are far more complex and increasingly...
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 /
Colombia’s Last Guerrillas Fight Over Cocaine Hub
On the same day that Colombia’s biggest guerrilla group, the ELN, resumed peace talks with the government, on 15 March reports emerged of a battle between the...
Brief /
Weekly InSight: Colombia’s ‘Invisibles’ – the New Generation of Drug Traffickers
InSight Crime's co-director Jeremy McDermott and Senior Investigator Deborah Bonello dug into our latest report this week -- ‘The Invisibles’: Colombia’s new...
The ‘Invisibles’: Colombia’s New Generation of Drug Traffickers
Drug trafficking has long embedded itself in Colombia’s civil conflict, hiding among, and subverting, the warring factions. Now as the civil conflict draws down,...
Colombia /
Gustavo Aníbal Giraldo, alias ‘Pablito’
Gustavo Aníbal Giraldo Quinchía, alias “Pablito”, is a member of the ELN’s Central Command (Comando Central – COCE). He is one of the ELN’s most...
Brief /
Belligerent ELN Front Kills Five Colombian Soldiers Near Venezuela Border
A deadly ambush against Colombian soldiers blamed on the ELN shows the rebel group's internal divide around its ongoing peace negotiations, and is a reminder of its...
Analysis /
With Armed Strike in Colombia, ELN’s Warmongers Seek Upper Hand
When Colombia’s largest guerrilla group declared an “armed strike” on the first anniversary of the official start of its peace negotiations with the...
Analysis /
Colombia’s ELN Reportedly Distributing Venezuela Government Food on the Border
The ELN could be participating in the distribution of Venezuelan government food rations in states along the Colombian border, which may be an attempt by the...
Analysis /
ELN Peace Talks Unraveling as Post-Ceasefire Violence Continues
In a sign of waning confidence in the negotiations that could lead to their unraveling, Colombia's government has suspended peace talks with the...
Analysis /
Shifting Criminal Dynamics Signal Violent Future for Colombia-Venezuela Border
Venezuela’s continued spiral into economic, political and social crisis and the demobilization of Colombia’s largest guerrilla group have shifted criminal...
