Colombia’s ELN rebels face US drug threats amid push for peace talks

Catatumbo, Colombia – The Catatumbo region, which stretches on the borderline with Venezuela successful the section of Norte de Santander, is Colombia’s astir volatile frontier.

Endowed with lipid reserves and coca crops but impoverished and neglected, this borderline country has historically been a tract of convulsive contention betwixt equipped groups warring for territorial control.

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The National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombia’s largest remaining guerrilla force, maintains a beardown and organised presence, operating crossed the porous borderline with Venezuela.

It is determination that immoderate of their fighters prime up an Al Jazeera reporting squad and thrust america to conscionable their commanders.

Tensions stay precocious successful this region. In January, thousands of radical were displaced due to the fact that of the warring betwixt the ELN and a dissident faction from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that continues to run successful immoderate parts of the state successful spite of bid agreements brokered successful 2016.

The combat is implicit power of the territory and entree to the borderline with Venezuela, which is simply a important mode to determination drugs retired of the country.

Entering the area, it’s instantly evident that the ELN is successful full power here. There is nary grounds of the country’s military. ELN flags decorate the sideroads, and the signs springiness a wide connection of the mode the group’s members spot Colombia close now.

“Total bid is simply a failure,” they say.

There is besides nary mobile telephone signal. People archer the Al Jazeera squad that telephone companies bash not privation to wage a taxation to the equipped groups controlling the territory.

When President Gustavo Petro took office, helium promised to instrumentality a full bid program with Colombia’s equipped groups. But the negotiations person not been easy, particularly with the ELN.

Government offcials suspended the bid talks due to the fact that of the warring successful Catatumbo, but present accidental they are acceptable to reinitiate talks.

Commander Ricardo of Colombia’s rebel radical the National Liberation Army (ELN) [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]

Al Jazeera meets with Commander Ricardo and Commander Silvana successful a tiny location successful the mediate of the mountains. The interrogation has to beryllium fast, they say, arsenic they are acrophobic astir a imaginable onslaught and reconnaissance drones that person been circulating successful the area.

The commanders are accompanied by immoderate of their fighters. Asked however galore they person successful the area, they respond, “We are thousands, and not everyone is wearing their uniforms. Some are municipality guerrillas.”

The authorities estimates the ELN has astir 3,000 fighters. But the fig could beryllium overmuch higher.

Commander Ricardo, who is successful complaint of the region, says helium believes determination could beryllium a accidental for peace.

“The ELN has been battling for a governmental solution for 30 years with assorted difficulties,” helium says. “We believed that with Petro, we would beforehand successful the process. But that did not happen. There’s ne'er been bid successful Colombia. What we person is the bid of the graves.”

The radical and the authorities had been gathering successful Mexico anterior to the suspension of the talks. “If the accords we had successful Mexico are inactive there, I judge our cardinal bid would hold [it] could unfastened up the mode for a governmental solution to this conflict”, Commander Ricardo tells Al Jazeera.

US drugs threat

But it’s not conscionable the combat with the Colombian authorities that has equipped groups present connected alert. The United States subject run against alleged cause vessels successful the Caribbean and Pacific – and the US’s assertive posture towards the authorities of neighbouring Venezuela – person brought an planetary magnitude to what was erstwhile an interior Colombian conflict.

The medication of US President Donald Trump refers to these radical not arsenic guerrillas but “narco-terrorists”, and has not ruled retired the anticipation of attacking them connected Colombian soil.

The US operation, which began successful aboriginal September, has killed much than 62 people, including nationals from Venezuela and Colombia, and destroyed 14 boats and a semi-submersible.

Some of the commanders person an extradition petition from the US, and the authorities says they are wanted criminals.

The US strikes against boats allegedly carrying drugs successful the Caribbean and the subject build-up successful the portion to ramp up unit connected Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are seen by the ELN arsenic different enactment of US imperialism.

The US authorities claims 1 of those boats belonged to the ELN. “Why don’t they seizure them and amusement the satellite what they captured and what they are they trafficking?” Commander Ricardo asks. “But no, they erase them with a bomb.”

He besides warns astir the anticipation of the ELN joining successful the combat against the US. “In the proposal that Trump attacks Venezuela, we volition person to spot however we respond, but it’s not conscionable us,” helium says. “[It’s] each of Latin America due to the fact that I americium definite determination are going to beryllium many, galore radical who volition drawback a limb and combat due to the fact that it’s excessively much. The information that the United States tin measurement implicit radical without respecting their self-determination has to end.”

The ELN was inspired by the Cuban revolution. But implicit the years, it has been progressive successful kidnappings, killings, extortion, and cause trafficking.

Commander Silvana, who joined the radical erstwhile she was a teen, says the ELN is not similar different equipped groups successful the country.

“Our principles bespeak that we are not progressive successful cause trafficking,” she says. “We person told this to the planetary community. What we person is taxes successful the territories we person been controlling for implicit 60 years. And if determination is coca, of course, we taxation it, too.”

Commander Silvana of the ELN [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]

Colombia has been a important US state successful the portion implicit the decades successful the combat against cause trafficking. But Petro has progressively questioned the US argumentation successful the Caribbean, arguing that Washington’s attack to information and migration reflects out-of-date Cold War logic alternatively than the region’s existent realities.

He has criticised the US subject beingness and naval operations adjacent Venezuela, informing that specified tactics hazard expanding tensions alternatively of promoting cooperation.

Trump has accused Petro, who is simply a erstwhile guerrilla, of being a cause trafficker himself.

Petro responded angrily, penning connected X, “Colombia has ne'er been rude to the United States. To the contrary, it has loved its civilization precise much. But you are rude and ignorant astir Colombia.”

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry besides condemned Trump’s remarks arsenic violative and a nonstop menace to the country’s sovereignty, and vowed to question planetary enactment successful defence of Petro and Colombian autonomy.

The belligerent US attack to Venezuela and Colombia, some led by leftist presidents – and the heightened anticipation of a US subject involution – hazard turning a section Colombia struggle into a broader determination one.

Everyone connected the crushed is present assessing however they volition respond if the US authorities gives its subject the greenish airy to onslaught Venezuela.