President Gustavo Petro: The ELN seeks control of Catatumbo to enrich itself with cocaine

Published at: 24/01/2025 07:01 PM

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, said that fighters of the National Liberation Army (ELN) left the majority of Arauca for Catatumbo, in order to seek “control of the border based economically on cocaine” in that region.

Through his account on the social network X, he indicated that “they seek control to become an international bargaining chip and to enrich themselves with cocaine. For national sovereignty, the ELN must be defeated and any force that has the same objectives”.

“The Colombian military takeover in Catatumbo and Arauca and the Venezuelan military on the border must be accompanied by the fundamentals: the triumph is not only in the rifle, it is in true social justice, in opening up opportunities for progress in the excluded regions of the country,” said the head of state.

Petro added that the social pact with Arauca and Catatumbo must become a reality and asked the population of the region for their help to contribute together to the replacement of “the economy that generates death with a prosperous one that generates life”.

“The cocaine trafficking route from Catatumbo to Haiti is the basis of the violence that has killed hundreds of Colombians since 2017, and thousands of Haitians and Venezuelans, has empowered dozens of gangs, has caused intense migration to the United States, and this has happened since they decided to tear the peace to pieces. Constitutional troops in Catatumbo even decreased substantially,” he said.

On the other hand, the Colombian president reported that he had contact with the Venezuelan Government to join efforts and develop a strategy to improve the security of border areas, eradicating the armed groups present there.

“I have spoken with the president in Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, to cover up illegal crossings, especially on the Catatumbo River, and to take action with side and side flights, we have the presence of 1580 compatriots in refugee camps on the other side,” he said.

Petro reported that “a joint plan of action is being built that seeks to close all space for action of drug owners on the border. The two defense ministers will meet for this purpose.”

This occurs in the face of the worst crisis of violence in a decade in the region bordering Catatumbo, causing thousands of people to be displaced.

Mazo News Team