Description: Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) has attacked the northern city of Cucuta bombing several police stations and taking the armed fighting to the streets. Cucuta’s Mayor, Jorge Acevedo imposed a 48 – hour curfew in order to reestablish order in the city. Cucuta has been considered as one of the major hubs for illicit activities used by the cartels, where the ELN is fighting armed fractions of the defunct FARC. The Colombian police and military haven’t had successes so far in countering ELN and armed militants from FARC as the President Gustavo Petro seized negotiations and announced a state of emergency in the country in Jan.
Impact: Current reports have showcased the severity of the conflict and its repercussions which are devastating to the local population and are causing mounting migrant crisis into neighboring Venezuela. President Gustavo Petro has managed the situation poorly as both the military and the police couldn’t solidify their presence in key focal points where the armed fighting surged. So far, the armed fighting has spread across the northern parts of the country, but it threatens the entire Colombian coastline as key drug trafficking and producing routes stretched across. Both ELN and FARC armed militants haven’t shown signs of stopping as Colombia could potentially ascend into larger scopes of political, security and humanitarian crisis in the near future.