Social movements and community organizations demand peace as violence breaks out in the northeastern region of Colombia.

The mountains of Catatumbo in eastern Colombia are so dangerous that the police and army generally don’t stray far from their barracks for fear of snipers.

The mayor of Cúcuta, Jorge Acevedo, said Monday that the situation due to the violence in the Catatumbo region has already overwhelmed all the capacities of this Colombian city on the border with Venezuela,

More than 32,000 people have fled to towns in northeast Colombia as they attempt to escape a sharp rise in fighting between militant factions, according to the country’s Ombudsman Iris Marín.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says he will declare an emergency over the guerrilla attacks in the northeast that have killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee.

Photo by SCHNEYDER MENDOZA/AFP via Getty Images Officials said the attacks occurred in several towns located in the Catatumbo region near the border ... shelter at the General Santander Stadium in Cucuta on Jan. 19, 2025. Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty ...

A Colombian official says more than 80 people have been killed in the country’s northeast region following failed attempts by the government to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army.

Colombia’s government is reactivating arrest orders for the top leadership of the nation’s largest rebel group.

Officials said the attacks happened in several towns located in the Catatumbo region near the border with Venezuela, with at least three people who were part of the peace talks being kidnapped.

At least 80 people are dead and more than 18,000 have been forced to flee their homes in Colombia, officials say, amid fierce clashes between two rival armed groups on the border with Venezuela.

The conflict in the rural Catatumbo region, where the Colombian state has struggled for decades to gain a foothold, has left at least 80 people dead and 40,000 others displaced over the past 10 ...

The mountains of Catatumbo in eastern Colombia are so dangerous that the police and army generally don’t stray far from their barracks for fear of snipers.Most Read from BloombergWhat Happened to Hanging Out on the Street?