Colombia’s largest remaining rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), has ordered civilians in areas under its control to remain indoors for three days as it carries out military drills, citing fears of possible United States intervention.
The left-wing group announced the restrictions on Friday, telling residents to stay off major roads and rivers from Sunday while its fighters prepare what it described as defensive actions against “imperialist intervention.” The directive comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Bogotá following warnings from US President Donald Trump that countries linked to cocaine production could face military strikes or even land-based attacks.
The ELN said the temporary lockdown was intended to prevent civilians from being caught up in combat activities. Colombia’s Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez rejected the order, calling it criminal coercion, and said government forces would maintain their presence across the country, including remote and conflict-prone regions.
Tensions have intensified after Trump issued a series of public threats against Colombian President Gustavo Petro, accusing his government of failing to curb cocaine production. Earlier this week, Trump warned that Petro “had better wise up,” suggesting Colombia could become a target of US military action similar to recent American operations in the Caribbean region.
Petro has responded defiantly, warning that any attack on Colombian territory would amount to a declaration of war. He has also invited Trump to witness the destruction of cocaine laboratories firsthand, insisting his administration is aggressively combating drug production and trafficking.
The ELN, which has an estimated 5,800 fighters, controls key drug-producing regions, including areas near the Venezuelan border. Although the group claims ideological motivations, it is heavily involved in narcotics trafficking and competes with dissident factions of the former FARC guerrillas for control of coca-growing zones and smuggling routes.
Peace talks between the ELN and successive Colombian governments have repeatedly failed. Negotiations with Petro’s administration collapsed earlier this year after a deadly rebel attack in the Catatumbo region that killed more than 100 people and displaced thousands.
Relations between Colombia and the United States have worsened sharply since Trump returned to office. Washington has imposed personal sanctions on Petro, revoked his visa, removed Colombia from its list of trusted counter-narcotics partners, and expanded US military operations in the Caribbean and along Latin America’s coasts.
Human rights groups and several Latin American governments have condemned the US strikes as unlawful and warned they could trigger wider regional instability, as armed groups such as the ELN signal readiness for confrontation amid rising geopolitical tensions.
