The president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, announced this Monday the tightening of military operations against the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which he blamed for drug trafficking and terrorism activities. The decision was communicated after a regional meeting in Arauca, a department bordering Venezuela and affected by the presence of armed groups.
“I have ordered a total offensive against the ELN and the FARC dissidents. Those miserable narcoterrorists will know, in the era of the tiger, how political will materializes in concrete actions,” declared the president at the end of the meeting.
De la Espriella, known among his followers as “El Tigre”, stated that the strategy will be directed both against the leaders of these organizations and against the financing sources that allow them to maintain their operations. The objective, he assured, is to weaken its structures and move towards its dismantling.
Government will not negotiate with the ELN while they are held hostage
The head of state also demanded that the ELN immediately release five officials who remain kidnapped by that guerrilla. Among them are two members of the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI) of the Prosecutor’s Office, held since May 2025.
As part of the announced actions, the president ordered the intensification of search and rescue efforts through Gaula, the groups specialized in the fight against kidnapping and extortion.
“I have ordered the Gaula (Unified Action Groups for Personal Freedom) to intensify operations to rescue them. We are not going to forget those kidnapped people,” said the president.
He president ruled out opening negotiations with these organizations while the criminal actions continue and conditioned any exit to the delivery of the kidnapped people. De la Espriella insisted that he will not negotiate with “narcoterrorism and that the only option is to hand over” those detained or face “the full weight of the law falling on them.”
Arauca remains one of the Colombian territories hardest hit by the armed conflict. In that region, the ELN and FARC dissidents dispute control of strategic areas for their illegal activities, including drug trafficking, due to their location on the border with Venezuela.
The confrontation between both structures has left numerous victims and forced displacements in recent years. In 2022, an escalation of violence in the department led to more than 130 murders and forced thousands of people to leave their homes.
