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9 clusters · 69 sources · 47 days · First seen · Last updated

ELN drone and explosive warfare expands in Colombia

Overview

Following the ELN drone attack on the El Trapiche Military Canton in Norte de Santander, the conflict has expanded geographically and intensified. The U.S. Department of State issued a Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory for the Norte de Santander department, specifically citing the Catatumbo region, due to the risk of terrorist attacks involving modified commercial drones. In early September, the conflict escalated significantly when an ELN drone swarm, estimated to include at least 20 explosive-laden UAVs, attacked the El Trapiche Military Canton in Ocaña. The strike killed three soldiers—Captain Marco David Pirajón Montezuma and soldiers Joel Alberto Jiménez Jaramillo and Jhon Carlos Marrugo Manjarrez—and injured four others, while also damaging a Colombian Aerospace Force helicopter. In response, President Abelardo de la Espriella abandoned the ‘Total Peace’ strategy of his predecessor in favor of a hardline approach, vowing to use “the full weight of state violence” against the ELN. To bolster surveillance, the Colombian government is expected to receive MQ-9A Reaper drones from the United States. In October, the ELN expanded its drone-led offensive to the Chocó department, conducting at least 11 explosive attacks in Condoto, Nóvita, and Río Iró. Meanwhile, in Arauca, a soldier was wounded by shrapnel during an attack in Puente Quinay. In late October, the military reported a “hard blow” to ELN logistics following an operation in Chinácota that killed Ricardo Trigos Peñaranda, known as ‘Resorte’, the financial leader of the ELN’s Reynaldo Ardila Gómez urban war front. President de la Espriella has since intensified aerial offensives. Recent military operations in the southwestern regions have targeted ELN positions in Cauca and Nariño. An aerial strike in El Tambo, Cauca, targeting the ELN’s Southwestern War Front, reportedly killed nine members, including Neftalí Riascos Alegría, known as ‘Marcos Pacífico’, a high-ranking commander of the José María Becerra front.

Entities

Abelardo De La Espriella · National Liberation Army · ELN · Colombia · Chocó

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

Coverage disagrees

Sources make claims that cannot both be true. CLSTR reports the disagreement; it does not decide who is right.

  • "Four soldiers were injured during the attack."

    vs

    "At least three soldiers were killed in the attack."

    The claims provide different casualty counts for the attack, stating three soldiers were killed versus four soldiers being injured.

Timeline

  1. [CRIME] 2 sources
    Colombian military operations and allegations in Vichada and Nariño

    Communities in Vichada allege a Colombian Aerospace Force bombing on a crop substitution farm, while authorities in Nariño seized 35 homemade grenades intended for drone attacks.

  2. [CRIME] 17 sources
    Colombia military strikes ELN camps in Cauca and Nariño

    Colombian military strikes against ELN camps in Cauca and Nariño have killed at least 17 people, including high-ranking commander ‘Marcos Pacífico’. The government also seized $3.8 million worth of coltan.

  3. [POLITICS] 35 sources
    Colombia: President De la Espriella orders military offensive and cabinet reshuffle

    President Abelardo De la Espriella has ordered a total offensive against the ELN and FARC dissidents, announced the death of ELN financier ‘Resorte’ in combat, and replaced Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara with a

  4. [CRIME] 3 sources
    ELN explosive attacks reported in Arauca and Chocó

    The Colombian Army reported an ELN explosive attack in Arauca that wounded a soldier and the discovery of a decoy explosive device on the Medellín-Quibdó highway in Chocó.

  5. [CRIME] 5 sources
    ELN conducts 11 drone attacks in Chocó, Colombia

    The ELN has conducted 11 drone-led explosive attacks against police and military targets in Chocó, Colombia, highlighting regional technological vulnerabilities.

  6. [INTERNATIONAL] 13 sources
    Norte de Santander: U.S. issues 'Do Not Travel' alert due to drone attack risks

    The U.S. has issued a 'Do Not Travel' alert for Colombia's Norte de Santander due to high risks of terrorist attacks involving drones and explosives by groups like the ELN.

  7. [INTERNATIONAL] 2 sources
    Colombia faces escalating conflict as drones are used by militias and government forces

    Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella has shifted toward violent confrontation with militias, leading to an escalation in conflict involving the use of drones in drug trafficking corridors.

  8. [INTERNATIONAL] 3 sources
    Colombia to receive US drones following deadly ELN attack

    Following a deadly ELN drone attack in Ocana that killed three soldiers, Colombia will receive MQ-9A Reaper drones from the US to enhance military intelligence and reconnaissance operations.

  9. [INTERNATIONAL] 6 sources
    ELN drone attack on Ocaña military base kills three soldiers

    At least three Colombian soldiers were killed and several others injured in an ELN drone attack on the El Trapiche Military Canton in Ocaña. President De la Espriella vowed a harder military response.

Sources

2001online.com · 360radio.com.co · abceconomia.co · alairenoticias.com · arauca.gov.co · asuntoslegales.com.co · boyacadigital.com · brasilemfolhas.com.br · brasilpopular.com · buenaventuraenlinea.com · ca.sports.yahoo.com · cablenoticias.tv · canaltro.com · caretas.pe · colmundoradio.com.co · colombia.com · colombiareports.com · contrapunto.com · correiomanha.pt · cretaone.gr · crprensa.com · cubanosporelmundo.com · deia.eus · deultimominuto.net · diarioriente.com · dominicanodigital.com · eje21.com.co · el-carabobeno.com · elclarinweb.com · eldiario.com · elespectador.com · elfrente.com.co · elmorichal.com · elnorte.com.co · elnuevodia.com.co · elnuevodiario.com.do · elnuevosiglo.com.co · elpaisvallenato.com · english.mathrubhumi.com · independent.co.uk · it-boltwise.de · jornaldebrasilia.com.br · jovempan.com.br · kienyke.com · lanacion.com.co · lanacionweb.com · laopinion.com.co · laotraverdad.co

This summary has been updated 11 times: see revision history