The mountains of Catatumbo in eastern Colombia are so dangerous that the police and army generally don’t stray far from their barracks for fear of snipers.

Social movements and community organizations demand peace as violence breaks out in the northeastern region of Colombia.

The governor of the Colombian department of Norte de Santander, William Villamizar, declared “a social and economic emergency” in that region in the northeast of the country due to the humanitarian crisis caused by clashes between ELN guerrillas and FARC dissidents in the Catatumbo area (northeast).

Iris Marín said the violence escalated last week in the Catatumbo region, displacing tens of thousands of people. Hundreds more remain confined to their homes and are unable to evacuate due to ...

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says he will declare an emergency over the guerrilla attacks in the northeast that have killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee.

Photo by SCHNEYDER MENDOZA/AFP via Getty Images Officials said the attacks occurred in several towns located in the Catatumbo region near the border ... shelter at the General Santander Stadium in Cucuta on Jan. 19, 2025. Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty ...

Colombia’s government is reactivating arrest orders for the top leadership of the nation’s largest rebel group.

A Colombian official says more than 80 people have been killed in the country’s northeast region following failed attempts by the government to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army.

Officials said the attacks happened in several towns located in the Catatumbo region near the border with Venezuela, with at least three people who were part of the peace talks being kidnapped.

Violence in Colombia’s Catatumbo region has displaced 20,000 people amid clashes between ELN guerrillas and FARC dissidents. Humanitarian aid is overwhelmed as thousands flee to urban centers. Authorities report 100 fatalities,

WOLA joins the United Nations, Human Rights Ombudsman, Defendemos la Paz, and others calling for an immediate end to the violence perpetrated by illegal armed groups in the Catatumbo region in Colombia,

At least 80 people are dead and more than 18,000 have been forced to flee their homes in Colombia, officials say, amid fierce clashes between two rival armed groups on the border with Venezuela.