Colombia’s ELN orders civilians to stay home for 72 hours, citing military exercises in response to US President Donald Trump’s intervention threats.
BOGOTÁ: Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group has ordered civilians in areas under its control to stay home for three days.
The group said it is conducting military exercises in response to “intervention” threats from US President Donald Trump.
The ELN, the oldest surviving guerrilla group in the Americas, vowed to fight for Colombia’s “defense” against Trump’s “threats of imperialist intervention.”
This follows Trump’s warning on Wednesday that Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro could “be next” over the country’s mass cocaine production.
“He’s going to have himself some big problems if he doesn’t wise up,” Trump told reporters.
The ELN urged civilians to stay indoors for 72 hours starting at 6:00 am on Sunday, avoiding main roads and rivers.
“It is necessary for civilians not to mix with fighters to avoid accidents,” the group said in a statement.
President Petro criticised the move on social media platform X.
“You, gentlemen of the ELN, are declaring an armed strike not against Trump, but in favor of the drug traffickers who control you,” he wrote.
Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez dismissed the ELN order as “nothing more than criminal coercion.”
He vowed the military “will be everywhere — in every mountain, every jungle, every river” to counter the threat.
With about 5,800 combatants, the ELN is present in over a fifth of Colombia’s municipalities, according to the Insight Crime research center.
The group is deeply rooted in the drug trade and vies for control of coca plantations and trafficking routes.
One ELN stronghold is the Catatumbo region near the Venezuelan border, a major coca-producing area.
Colombia is the world’s top cocaine producer, according to the UN.
Relations between Bogotá and Washington have soured since Trump’s return to office.
Petro has openly clashed with Trump, previously calling him “rude and ignorant.”
The Colombian leader has denounced US migrant policy and military strikes on suspected drug boats.
Washington has accused Petro of drug trafficking and imposed sanctions, removing Colombia from a list of anti-narcotics allies.
