Our fraternal embrace to the people of the Colombian Northeast, cradle of dignity and resistance.
The war declared on the Catatumbo by President Gustavo Petro continues to have negative consequences for the region, which today makes it difficult for displaced people to return in several cities of the country.
The state of internal commotion as a measure adopted by the government to deal with the crisis in the Catatumbo, exacerbated by the confrontation between the ELN guerrillas and the drug trafficking gang Front 33 of the ex–Farc, has turned out to be the same as measures adopted by previous governments, detrimental to the region historically hit by the policies of the oligarchic state.
The policy adopted by Petro was oriented towards the configuration of a criminal amalgam composed of the National Army, the gang of 33 and hit squads hired by Richard Suárez, which are articulated in a paramilitary structure that threatens the return to normalcy and the restoration of social and community life, in various points of geography in the region.
The military that today invade the Catatumbo under the assumption of protecting the population, are responsible for the crimes that have been carried out against the people of the territory, such as murders, massacres, kidnappings and threats, as well as the sozobra that today offers no guarantees for the safe return of the families, who request the ELN to enter the region.
The government army is no guarantee of any security, more so now that they protect and support a narco–trafficking gang; a gang that, with the support of the military, has been propitiating the re–entry of militiamen who fled the region disguised among the displaced, to now infiltrate the communities and continue delinquency in their service, causing more victims under the protection of the government.
The ELN, in compliance with its war regulations, has allowed the release of prisoners who in the context of the confrontation with the gang of Richard Suárez have fallen into our hands. Several of these released motivated by Suárez and favored by the government army, have been reactivated in criminal actions of the gang in breach of the commitment made to humanitarian agencies, the family and the community.
In view of these facts, and with the will of the ELN to continue releasing prisoners of war, it is necessary to form an International Commission to welcome those released and guarantee their definitive separation from the criminal world.
A guaranteed return of the displaced can be achieved, as long as the criminal alliance between the government army and the gang of 33 is brought to an end. A guarantee for the non–recidivism of the released, who have been in the hands of the ELN as prisoners of war, would be determined by an international body assuming responsibility for the resocialization of these young people.
The ELN, in its commitment to the people, will continue to fight this macabre alliance ordered by Petro, who turned his back on peace in the Catatumbo and turned it into a scene of war.
Colombia… for the workers!
Not a step back… liberation or death!
Northeast War Front
Commander–in–Chief Manuel Perez Martinez
National Liberation Army
Northeast Mountains
April 6, 2025
Source: ELN-Voces