A Venezuelan army member stands guard at the entrance of the Tienditas cross-border bridge between Colombia and Venezuela. File Image used for representational purposes only.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
At least 19 people were killed in the Venezuelan army’s recent attack on a Colombian guerrilla group’s camp inside Venezuela, an NGO and a source close to the operation said Sunday (November 1, 2026).
The FundaRedes NGO — which monitors rights violations in Venezuela’s border states — initially reported nine deaths in the attack early Friday (October 30) morning in the western state of Apure.
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Juan Francisco Garcia, a coordinator with the group, told AFP on Sunday (November 1) that “another 10 bodies” had been transported to the state capital, San Fernando, the day after the attack.
The attack targeted a camp of the National Liberation Army, a Colombian guerrilla group known by its Spanish initials, ELN.
Video shared by FundaRedes (Venezuelan NGO) showed bodies lying on the ground, trees knocked down and the ruins of what appeared to be a campsite.
A Venezuelan military source close to the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attack had been supported by U.S. intelligence.
“We had help from the CIA and the FBI. This was an order from the United States,” the source said.
Requests for comment from the U.S. State Department and Venezuelan government were not immediately answered.
The strikes were carried out by drones and attack helicopters targeting the camp, which was located in a rural, forested area in the southwest of Apure, the military source said.
The attack took the guerrillas by surprise — they had no time to react, the source said, noting that most of the people killed were Venezuelan nationals.
‘More camps’
After the attack, bodies were initially transported to the town of Puerto Paez, which lies across a river from Colombia.
Several armed groups engage in drug trafficking, illegal mining and smuggling along Venezuela and Colombia’s porous 2,200-kilometer (1,367-mile) border, including dissident members of the now-defunct FARC and the ELN.
The ELN has been among the most powerful rebel groups in Latin America since the FARC guerrilla army signed a peace accord with the Bogota government in 2016.
The military operation along the border may represent the latest shift in Venezuelan policy since the U.S. ouster of Nicolas Maduro in January.
Venezuela’s government has since been led by Delcy Rodriguez, Mr. Maduro’s former deputy, who has won vocal support from U.S. President Donald Trump for bending to his administration’s demands.
Colombia has, for years, accused Venezuela’s leftist government of turning a blind eye to Colombian rebel groups in border areas.
Human rights advocate and military affairs expert Rocio San Miguel said the Friday (October 30) attack reflects a “change in doctrine” within the Venezuelan military.
The military source told AFP that Venezuelan forces were “going to continue combing through the area because we believe there are more camps.”
The operation also comes as Colombia’s newly elected hard-right President, Abelardo de la Espriella, ramps up a violent crackdown on the ELN and drug trafficking groups in his country.
Colombia has joined over a dozen other Latin American and Caribbean nations in a U.S.-led regional effort to combat drug trafficking and organized crime across the region.
Published – November 02, 2026 08:44 am IST
