ELN News
Los Pachenca Seek New Sanctuary for Drug Operations at Colombia’s Tip
A 14-ton seizure of cocaine has exposed a trafficking network linking Colombian trafficking group Los Pachecna to a small smuggling organization on the La Guajira peninsula, an arid, remote corner of the country ideal for launching drugs into 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 /
More Than Drug Trafficking Drives Violence in Colombia’s Nariño
The Colombian government has blamed drug trafficking for three massacres in the south of the country, but violence in the region is likely spurred by armed groups,...
Analysis /
Venezuela Indigenous Communities at Risk From ELN Mining Incursions
Recent incursions by the ELN to set up illegal mining facilities along the Caura River in central Venezuela are being seen as a threat by local Indigenous...
Analysis /
Between Contraband and Coronavirus: Migration Dynamics at the Venezuela-Colombia Border
As Venezuelan citizens try to return home during the coronavirus pandemic, their own government has accused them of spreading the virus while illegal groups along...
Analysis /
The ELN’s Repeated Demands for a Ceasefire in Colombia
In recent months, the ELN has made several attempts to reach a ceasefire but these have been continually rebuffed by the Colombian government, which claims the...
Brief /
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...
Analysis /
Violence Rages On in Colombia’s Cauca Department
A wave of violence has struck Colombia's southwestern Cauca department, in the form of targeted killings and armed groups battling for control of coca crops and...
Analysis /
Colombia’s High Commissioner for Peace Lays Out New Appeal to Armed Groups
Amid an unprecedented global health crisis, a national lockdown and uncertainty about the evolution of the country's main criminal actors, the Colombian government...
Analysis /
Colombia Running Out of Incentives to Convince Armed Fighters to Surrender
The Colombian government's latest offer of legal benefits to individuals of armed groups who surrender and face justice was met with skepticism, especially since it...
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...