The Western War Front Ogli Padilla of the ELN (National Liberation Army) had called for a 72-hour armed strike in the Chocó region from February 18 to 21. This strike is a reaction to the collaboration between the government, the army and the mercenaries in Chocó and aims to make it visible. It denounced the “serious humanitarian situation” in the region, for which the government is as much responsible as the proliferation of paramilitaries such as the Clan del Golfo. During the strike, the guerrillas hit the security forces, detonating four car bombs in front of police stations in the cities of Villa del Rosario and Cucuma.
The conflict between the ELN and the Clan del Golfo is presented in many medias as a “struggle for control of drug routes” and “illegal economic sectors”, the ELN explains that the advance of the paramilitaries is taking place in the context of the oligarchy’s projects aimed at “imposing megaprojects and its extractivist model in the region”. The massive presence of mercenaries serves to secure their interests. The ELN is reportedly active in 97 of Colombia’s 172 municipalities where illegal drug cultivation is practised. It does not participate in trafficking but levies taxes from the cartels and protects the interests of small coca-growing farmers.
https://secoursrouge.org/colombie-leln-frappe-les-forces-de-securite/