The Colombian government has issued a decree declaring a state of internal commotion in several municipalities in the northeast of the country in response to the crisis in the Catatumbo region, triggered by the offensive of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla, which has left at least 80 dead and more than 40,000 displaced in the past week.
The main objective of this measure is to reinforce airspace control, improve intelligence services of the Public Force, and accelerate the actions of the judicial branch. The Minister of Finance, Diego Guevara, has emphasized that the decree has an initial duration of 90 days and seeks to coordinate national efforts to guarantee the safe return of the displaced and transform the illicit economies that have kept the Catatumbo region in constant danger.
Among the included measures is the restriction on transportation in certain areas and international coordination to facilitate the entry of humanitarian resources into the region, where more than 12,000 farmers remain confined due to the armed conflict. Recently, the National Army managed to rescue 25 farmers trapped in the conflict zone after they requested help through a video to save their lives.
Additionally, the Public Force has managed to evacuate 540 people in risk situations due to clashes between the ELN and dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The State of Internal Commotion, contemplated in the Colombian Constitution, grants the government the ability to adopt exceptional measures to address imminent threats against institutional stability, state security, and citizen coexistence.
