Venezuelan army bombs ELN guerrilla camp on Colombian border, at least 19 reported dead

The strike

Venezuelan armed forces bombed a camp of the Colombian guerrilla group ELN on Venezuelan territory, according to reports published on 31 October and 1 November. Infobae, citing its own sources, said the operation had been running since Thursday, 29 October, and that the drone attack targeted an ELN drug storage site close to the Colombian border. Fundaredes, a non-governmental organisation, told AFP that it was the first bombing of this kind Venezuela has carried out against the ELN. Footage the group shared shows several bodies on the ground, fallen trees and the ruins of what appears to be a camp in a wooded rural area of Apure state. Fundaredes said the footage dates from Friday, 30 October, when one of its staff members counted nine bodies at the site.

Casualty reports

The death toll differs between outlets, and officials have not confirmed any figure. Infobae reported at least 20 people killed, while the Colombian daily El Tiempo put the toll at at least 19 and said there were injured whose number remained unknown. Infobae also said that a 62-year-old woman was among the dead, probably the wife of one ELN member. Fundaredes and the human rights defender and military expert Rocío San Miguel warn that ten more ELN members may have died, based on reports from residents of the Buena Vista del Meta sector, which borders the Colombian department of Vichada. The figures rest on residents' reports, the NGO and media sources rather than on official data, and the number of wounded is not known.

Infobae (at least)20

El Tiempo (at least)19

Bodies counted by Fundaredes9

Infobae (at least)

20 people

El Tiempo (at least)

19 people

Bodies counted by Fundaredes

9 people

Data from the article text

Political backdrop

Venezuela's authorities had neither reported the attack nor answered AFP's request for comment at the time of reporting. Colombia has long accused Venezuela of tolerating the presence of Colombian rebel groups on its territory. Colombian president Abelardo de la Espriella has announced a military offensive against these groups, and the administration of US president Donald Trump supports him in it. Trump is described as the ideological ally of De la Espriella. Caracas has also pursued a policy favourable to Washington since US special forces overthrew long-time authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro and captured him in January.

Armed groups on the border

The Colombian-Venezuelan border is 2,219 km long and several armed groups operate along it. Besides the ELN, the area hosts dissident factions of the former FARC, which fight each other over profits from drug trafficking and illegal mining. Sources describe the ELN as the strongest active guerrilla organisation in South America since most FARC units laid down their arms under the 2016 peace agreement. San Miguel said the local population lives in fear of the group.

“There is a lot of fear in the area.”

She added that residents are under heavy pressure from the ELN guerrilla. The figures in this account rest on reports from residents and the NGO, not on official data.