Colombia\u2019s most powerful remaining guerrilla groups have issued open threats against the United States after the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that captured Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and transported him to New York to face drug and weapons charges. What began as a bold U.S. strike has now shaken the entire region, especially Colombia, where guerrilla forces with long histories of violence, ideology, and narcotrafficking are now declaring that they will fight back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Liberation Army, known as the ELN, delivered one of the strongest statements. Through its Eastern War Front, the group declared that \u201conce again U.S. imperialism violates the national sovereignty of the countries of Our America and the world.\u201d It condemned the U.S. action as aggression against what it called the \u201cBolivarian Republic of Venezuela\u201d and called on \u201call patriots\u201d to \u201cconfront the imperial plans against Venezuela and the peoples of the Global South.\u201d The ELN also urged countries in Latin America to \u201creject the gringo aggression, defend national sovereignty, and embrace unity and popular resistance,\u201d signaling that it is trying to frame this as a continental struggle, not simply a border dispute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dissident members of the former FARC rebel army, who rejected Colombia\u2019s peace process and returned to war, were equally direct and emotional. Writing publicly, they declared that they were prepared to spend the \u201clast drop of blood fighting the U.S. empire.\u201d These dissidents already compete with the ELN for territory and profits in the drug-producing regions near Venezuela, yet they appear united when it comes to opposing Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two major guerrilla forces remain active in Colombia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is the ELN, now considered the most powerful active insurgent group in the country. It controls major strategic corridors along the border with Venezuela. These areas are not just rural hideouts. They are essential routes for cocaine trafficking. An InSight Crime investigation described how three of the ELN\u2019s five main fighting divisions actually operate from Venezuelan territory. There, they find protection, training ground space, logistics support, and freedom to move fighters and weapons across the border. Security experts say these bases were tolerated by Maduro\u2019s government, giving the ELN room to expand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second major threat comes from FARC dissident groups. These are not the same organization that signed peace years ago. These are breakaway factions that either refused to lay down arms or later returned to violent operations. They are now deeply entrenched in Colombia\u2019s coca producing zones and frequently fight with the ELN for control of those lucrative territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both guerrilla movements are trying to present their threats as part of a larger political struggle. They describe the United States as an invading power and accuse Washington of regional domination. The ELN says it wants Latin America to unite in defense of sovereignty. The group insists it is acting in solidarity with \u201cthe Venezuelan people and government.\u201d Meanwhile, FARC dissidents echo the same argument, presenting themselves as defenders against what they believe is a foreign empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, behind this revolutionary language is a much more practical reality. These armed groups depend heavily on narcotrafficking. They may speak of ideology, sovereignty, and resistance, but their money, weapons, and survival are fueled by cocaine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ELN controls key drug smuggling corridors. FARC dissidents control coca fields and production zones. Both benefit from Venezuela\u2019s territory and political protection. Colombian intelligence sources cited by InSight Crime report that ELN fighters often cross into Colombia from Venezuela to launch major offensives, including one campaign in the Catatumbo region that reportedly killed more than 100 people. Their relationship with the Maduro government has been described as strategic, mutually beneficial, and rooted in ideology, illicit economy, and shared opposition to foreign military interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This combination of radical politics and powerful criminal financing makes them even more dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everything escalated after the U.S. strike that captured Maduro. The operation shocked the region and led many Colombians to fear that their own country might become the next target of U.S. military action. These fears only grew when President Donald Trump issued a blunt warning to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, telling reporters that Petro should \u201cwatch his ass.\u201d Trump accused Colombia of producing cocaine that flows to the United States, saying, \u201cHe\u2019s making cocaine and they\u2019re sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Petro responded by calling the attack on Venezuela an \u201cassault on the sovereignty\u201d of Latin America. He immediately ordered troop reinforcements to the Venezuelan border and Colombia activated alerts for possible guerrilla attacks on both sides of the frontier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
History in Colombia shows that guerrilla movements are extremely difficult to defeat. They do not operate like traditional armies. They live in jungle terrain, disappear among local populations, wait out military pressure, and strike when it benefits them. When their hard-edged ideology is supported by enormous amounts of money from narcotrafficking, they do not run out of supplies, weapons, or recruits. Colombia experienced this during the long years of conflict with the FARC. It was costly, bloody, and exhausting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, the ELN and FARC dissidents are stronger than they have been in years. They have ideological motivation, deep regional connections, and a massive criminal economy behind them. Trying to block them from moving freely between Colombia and Venezuela could become a brutal challenge, and some experts fear it may not even be possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The situation now combines politics, war, drugs, and international power struggle. Guerrillas are promising to fight the United States. Washington has shown it is willing to act when it chooses. Colombia fears it could become the next battleground. With heavily armed insurgents threatening violence and backed by billion dollar criminal networks, the road ahead may be violent and unpredictable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The guerrillas say they are ready to spill their \u201clast drop of blood.\u201d The region must now prepare for what that promise may truly mean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Colombia\u2019s most powerful remaining guerrilla groups have issued open threats against the United States after the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that captured Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and transported him to New York to face drug and weapons charges. What began as a bold U.S. strike has now shaken the entire region, especially Colombia, where guerrilla forces with long histories of violence, ideology, and narcotrafficking are now declaring that they will fight back. Guerrilla Leaders Promise Armed Resistance The National Liberation Army, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/elnfrarcgdsdf.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6876"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6878,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6876\/revisions\/6878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}