[REVISION HISTORY]

ELN drone and explosive warfare expands in Colombia

Updated 11 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-10-22 18:51 UTC → 2026-10-23 00:35 UTC · added ~~removed~~

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. ~~A recent airstrike against the ELN’s Southwestern War Front~~ Recent military operations in the ~~Nariño department resulted~~ southwestern regions have targeted ELN positions in ~~at least eight deaths. This marks the fifth~~ Cauca and Nariño. An aerial ~~offensive ordered by de la Espriella, which have resulted~~ strike in ~~approximately 60 fatalities to date.~~ 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.

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