Colombia’s ELN rebels prepare for battle amid Trump ‘intervention’ threat

ELN conducts subject drills, orders civilians indoors, arsenic Trump warns drug-producing nations look imaginable attack.

Colombia’s largest remaining rebel unit has told civilians surviving nether its authorization to enactment astatine location for 3 days portion it stages subject drills successful effect to burgeoning United States threats.

The National Liberation Army (ELN), a left-wing rebel group, ordered the lockdown connected Friday, instructing residents to support disconnected large routes and rivers from Sunday greeting arsenic fighters behaviour what the radical describes arsenic preparations to support the state against “imperialist intervention”.

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The announcement follows warnings from President Donald Trump that nations manufacturing and exporting cocaine to the US could look subject strikes oregon adjacent onshore attacks.

“It is indispensable for civilians not to premix with fighters to debar accidents,” the ELN said.

Colombia’s Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez rejected the rebel directive arsenic “nothing much than transgression coercion”, pledging that authorities troops would support beingness “in each mountain, each jungle, each river”.

The determination underscores a deepening confrontation betwixt Washington and Bogota arsenic Trump escalates rhetoric against Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

Earlier this week, Trump told concern executives that Petro had “better omniscient up, oregon he’ll beryllium next”, citing cocaine accumulation arsenic justification for imaginable action, and alluding to the US subject build-up adjacent Venezuela amid threats to region its President Nicolas Maduro.

In caller days, the Trump medication has imposed caller sanctions connected Venezuela, targeting 3 nephews of President Nicolas Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, arsenic good arsenic six crude lipid tankers and shipping companies linked to them, arsenic Washington steps up unit connected Caracas, pursuing the US seizure of a Venezuelan lipid tanker.

Petro has responded to Trump’s actions, including sanctioning the Colombian president, with equal defiance, informing Trump earlier this period against “waking the jaguar” and insisting immoderate battle connected Colombian territory would magnitude to a declaration of war.

The left-wing president has invited his US counterpart to witnesser laboratory demolitions firsthand, claiming his medication destroys cause facilities each 40 minutes. In precocious November, the authorities hailed what it said was its largest cocaine bust successful a decade.

The rebel group, ELN, which fields astir 5,800 fighters, maintains power implicit important drug-producing areas, including the Catatumbo portion on the Venezuelan frontier.

Al Jazeera analogous Teresa Bo, who visited ELN-held territory successful November, recovered the radical exercising unchallenged authority, with fighters openly displaying banners declaring “Total bid is simply a failure” and nary authorities soldiers visible.

Commander Ricardo, a elder fig interviewed during that visit, suggested the rebels mightiness articulation wider absorption should Trump onslaught Venezuela. Such an involution could provoke an equipped effect crossed Latin America, helium warned, describing US actions arsenic violations of determination self-determination.

The organisation has attempted bid negotiations with Colombia’s past 5 governments without success.

Discussions with Petro’s medication collapsed aft the ELN launched a January battle successful Catatumbo that killed much than 100 radical and forced thousands from their homes.

Despite claiming ideological motivation, the radical derives important income from narcotics trafficking, competing with erstwhile FARC fighters who refused to disarm nether a 2016 bid colony for power of coca cultivation zones and smuggling corridors.

Relations betwixt Colombia and the US person deteriorated sharply since Trump returned to office.

Washington has imposed personal sanctions connected Petro, cancelled his visa aft helium joined a pro-Palestinian objection successful New York, and removed Colombia from its database of reliable counter-narcotics partners.

Meanwhile, Trump has deployed the nation’s largest craft bearer and astir 15,000 troops to the Caribbean and has ordered more than 20 subject strikes successful caller months against alleged cause trafficking vessels successful the Caribbean and disconnected Latin America’s Pacific coast, sidesplitting much than 80 people.

Human rights groups, immoderate US Democrats, and respective Latin American countries person condemned the attacks arsenic unlawful extrajudicial killings of civilians.