An operation against alleged members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in Venezuela's Apure state last Friday was reported to have left at least 20 dead by human rights organisations working in the area, and The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the United States took part with intelligence and drone support.
In the absence of official confirmation, Fundaredes, the first organisation to raise the alarm, counted 23 dead and an undetermined number of wounded in attacks on an ELN base used as a cocaine distribution centre, according to testimony the Times collected from survivors and local residents. Residents in Puerto Páez, an area controlled by the ELN, described a bombing, and photographs of some of the dead circulated in WhatsApp groups. Reporters from Alianza Rebelde Investiga identified eight of the dead, including two Colombians and four Mexicans, using information gathered from the morgue, the hospital and the cemetery in San Fernando de Apure, around 250 miles from Caracas. A senior Venezuelan military officer also confirmed the attack.
The Times, citing four US officials, reported that the operation took place last Friday with US intelligence and drone support. If confirmed, it would mark the second operation of its type, after a June airstrike that Donald Trump claimed on his social media killed Héctor Guerrero Flores, known as "Niño Guerrero", the leader of the Tren de Aragua criminal organisation, in the gold mines of Bolívar state, the day after local residents reported security operations in the area.
The joint operation highlights how, since last year, the Trump administration has deployed a militarised strategy against drug trafficking in Latin America, with attacks on vessels off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia escalating to ground operations. The Times also reported that Washington and Caracas were evaluating the possibility of deploying US troops in Venezuela, as part of the tutelage the United States has exercised since January 3, when it captured former president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Venezuelan authorities have not reported on the incident. The interior and justice minister, Diosdado Cabello, said he had deployed the scientific police to the area to investigate some "strange deaths". He also announced the dispatch of troops to the border with Colombia, in response to the militarisation of the Norte de Santander department ordered by Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella. "We do not want internal conflicts in Venezuela, especially those that are not ours," Cabello said.
In recent years the ELN has been withdrawing into Venezuela. According to investigative reporting, it has between 900 and 2,000 fighters in at least 38 border municipalities in the states of Apure, Amazonas, Táchira and Zulia, where it controls clandestine airstrips for drug trafficking and is also involved in fuel and mineral smuggling and extortion. For years the chavista regime was accused of sheltering ELN guerrillas and dissidents who broke away from the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC on its territory, although the government has always denied it. In the criminal indictment Maduro now faces in a New York court he is accused of being an ELN ally in the smuggling of cocaine to the United States.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- A US-supported strike on Venezuelan soil extends the drug campaign from attacks on vessels at sea to ground operations inside the country, raising the prospect of direct confrontation with Caracas.
- It comes as Washington and Caracas were reported to be weighing the deployment of US troops in Venezuela, and as Colombia militarises its side of the border, so the border region is where escalation would show first.
- If confirmed, it sets a precedent for strikes against armed groups that Venezuelan authorities have been accused of sheltering, a charge the government has always denied.
Background
Colombia's National Liberation Army is one of the country's long-running guerrilla organisations, founded in the 1960s and for decades active along the Colombian-Venezuelan border, where it has financed itself through extortion and the drug trade. After the 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC, the ELN and FARC dissident factions expanded their presence in Venezuelan border states, a presence Venezuelan governments have consistently denied tolerating. US anti-narcotics policy in the region has historically centred on maritime and aerial interdiction and on indicting suspected traffickers in US courts.
Key Perspectives
- Fundaredes: the human rights organisation, the first to raise the alarm, counted 23 dead and an undetermined number of wounded in attacks on an ELN base used as a cocaine distribution centre.
- Four US officials, cited by The New York Times: the operation took place last Friday with US intelligence and drone support.
- Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela's interior and justice minister: said he had sent scientific police to investigate some "strange deaths" and that "We do not want internal conflicts in Venezuela, especially those that are not ours."
- Venezuela's government: has always denied accusations that it shelters ELN guerrillas and FARC dissidents on its territory.
What to Watch
- Whether Washington or Caracas officially confirms the strike and the extent of US involvement.
- The death toll as more of the dead are identified, and whether Fundaredes' count is corroborated.
- The border with Colombia's Norte de Santander department, where Caracas has sent troops in response to Bogotá's militarisation, and whether the reported talks on deploying US troops in Venezuela advance.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedA rights group reported at least 20 deaths in a drone strike against alleged ELN members in Venezuela.El País English: “In the absence of official confirmation, human rights organizations working in the area, such as Fundaredes, reported at least 20 deaths.”
- SupportedThe New York Times reported, citing four US officials, that the United States provided intelligence and drone support for Friday’s operation in Apure, near the Colombian border.El País English: “According to four U.S. officials quoted by the newspaper, the operation took place last Friday with U.S. intelligence and drone support.”
- SupportedFundaredes counted 23 dead and an undetermined number of wounded in attacks on an ELN base used as a cocaine distribution centre.El País English: “Fundaredes, the first organization to raise the alarm, counted 23 dead and an undetermined number of wounded in attacks on an ELN base used as a cocaine distribution center”
- SupportedA senior Venezuelan military officer confirmed the attack.El País English: “A senior Venezuelan military officer also confirmed the attack.”
- SupportedResidents in Puerto Páez described a bombing.El País English: “Residents in Puerto Páez, an area controlled by the ELN, described a bombing”
- SupportedAlianza Rebelde Investiga reporters identified eight of the dead, including two Colombians and four Mexicans.El País English: “Local reporters from Alianza Rebelde Investiga were able to identify eight of the dead, including two Colombians and four Mexicans”
- SupportedDonald Trump claimed on social media that a June airstrike killed Héctor Guerrero Flores, known as “Niño Guerrero.”El País English: “after an airstrike in June that killed the leader of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization, Héctor Guerrero Flores, aka “Niño Guerrero,” in the gold mines of Bolívar state, as Donald Trump claimed on his social media”
- SupportedThe New York Times reported that Washington and Caracas were evaluating the possibility of deploying US troops in Venezuela.El País English: “The New York Times also revealed that Washington and Caracas were evaluating the possibility of deploying U.S. troops in Venezuela”
- SupportedThe story says Maduro and Cilia Flores were captured on January 3.El País English: “since January 3, when it captured former president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.”
- SupportedCabello said he sent scientific police to investigate some “strange deaths.”El País English: “Diosdado Cabello, merely said he had deployed the scientific police to the area to investigate some “strange deaths.””
- SupportedCabello said, “We do not want internal conflicts in Venezuela, especially those that are not ours.”El País English: ““We do not want internal conflicts in Venezuela, especially those that are not ours,” Cabello said.”
- SupportedInvestigative reporting put the ELN’s presence at between 900 and 2,000 fighters in at least 38 border municipalities.El País English: “According to investigative reporting, it has between 900 and 2,000 fighters in at least 38 border municipalities”