ELN Modifies Drones To Target Colombia’s Security Forces

What began as a national day of celebration quickly turned into a stark reminder of Colombia’s worsening internal conflict. On July 20, as cities and towns across the country commemorated the 215th anniversary of independence with parades and patriotic displays of the tricolor flag, three Colombian soldiers were killed and eight others wounded in a drone attack in the mountainous northeastern region of Catatumbo.

The strike, carried out by the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla, marked one of the most lethal and technologically sophisticated uses to date of weaponized drones in Colombia’s internal conflict. The attack occurred in El Carmen, a remote municipality in the department of Norte de Santander, and signals a dangerous evolution in the capabilities of the Maoist guerrilla – one that increasingly mirrors global trends from Iran to China, Ukraine and Russia, in asymmetrical warfare.

“We express our deepest condolences to the families of our soldiers, who have sacrificed their lives in the fulfillment of duty,” Colombia’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The fallen were identified as Jesús Alberto Sánchez Anaya, Jader Luis Calle Núñez, and Héctor Miguel Ramos Olivera – professional soldiers assigned to the Army’s Vulcano Task Force.

Read more: City Paper Bogotá