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The new director of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Terry Cole has accused Venezuela and the ELN of collaborating to export cocaine to the US. Speaking to Fox News he said: “ Venezuela has become a narco-terrorist state that continues to collaborate with the FARC and the Colombian ELN to send record quantities of cocaine […]
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President Gustavo Petro has announced a new round of peace talks to take place with Colombia’s largest narcotrafficking organisation, the Clan del Golfo. The government has been engaged in sporadic peace talks with Clan del Golfo since 2023, as well as a secret round of talks in Doha last February. These negotiations are being conducted […]
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On August 5th, Segunda Marquetalia’s second-in-command, José Manuel Sierra Sabogal, alias “Zarco Aldinever,” was reportedly killed in an ELN ambush near the Colombia-Venezuela border. The Segunda Marquetalia is one of the two major factions of FARC dissidents alongside the EMC. The group has a significant territorial presence along the border, which is currently being contested […]
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Today (July 19), the Colombian army dismantled two cocaine processing laboratories in Norte de Santander controlled by the ELN. The facilities were located in Cucuta and Pamlontia, and a total of 275 kilos of cocaine were recovered during the operation. Five days earlier, the authorities uncovered two similar laboratories – one in Valle de Aburra […]
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Today (July 15), explosives reportedly belonging to the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) were left on a road in the San Pedro neighborhood of Cúcuta, blocking traffic until an explosives disposal unit could safely remove them. Two days earlier, an explosion damaged a section of the Caño Limón–Coveñas oil pipeline near Saravena, temporarily disrupting the […]
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On July 10th, the Colombian military conducted a bombing campaign in the Bajo Cauca region of Antioquia targeting a Clan del Golfo encampment. Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that the operation killed 30-40 members of irregular groups (the specific groups were not specified). These bombings were originally reported to have occurred near Valdivia, but in […]
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Over 65 farmers fled Yondó, Antioquia today (July 12) due to a clash between the ELN and Clan del Golfo. According to the Mayor’s office in Yondó fighting broke out between the two groups in Puerto Matilde but quickly spread to the rest of the Cimitarra River valley. This is the latest in a series […]
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History The Estado Mayor Central (EMC) was formed as a result of the peace process between the Colombian government and FARC. In 2016, FARC’s historic First Front announced that it would not comply with the peace deal. The First Front was comprised of 400 men and led by Néstor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias “Iván Mordisco.” […]
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History Los Rastrojos emerged out of the Norte de Valle Cartel, which is considered the successor to the Cali Cartel. The group was set up as an armed sub-faction loyal to one of the Norte de Valle’s leaders, Wilber Varela, alias “Jabon.” Partly, this was due to an internal power struggle against another Norte de […]
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History The Clan del Golfo (CdG) was founded in 2008 but it has deeper ties to the history of paramilitary groups in Colombia. Paramilitary groups were first formed in response to the kidnappings and violence of guerrilla groups like FARC and the ELN. However, they would themselves turn to criminal economies and commit numerous war […]