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ELN Denies Involvement in Drug Smuggling
(MENAFN) Colombia’s most prominent insurgent faction, the National Liberation Army (ELN), has firmly denied any involvement in a suspected drug-trafficking vessel that was destroyed by the United States Navy in the Caribbean Sea.
The incident occurred on Friday, when the vessel was targeted and destroyed. Following the strike, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shared a video of the event on the platform X, stating that US intelligence indicated the boat was “affiliated” with the ELN and had been “involved in illicit narcotics smuggling.”
In response, the ELN released a public statement on social media on Tuesday, asserting that it “does not and will not have any boat connected with drug trafficking activities, neither in the Caribbean nor any other ocean.”
The group emphasized that drug smuggling is “simply… prohibited” under its internal rules. The declaration was reported by a news agency.
The ELN, which adheres to a Marxist-Leninist ideology, is Colombia’s oldest guerrilla movement, having waged a conflict against the state since the 1960s.
The United States government claims the group also has operations in neighboring Venezuela. Due to its armed actions and political stance, the ELN is classified as a terrorist group by the US, the European Union, and several other nations.
On Monday, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro spoke out against the US operation, which reportedly resulted in the deaths of three individuals aboard the targeted vessel.
He stated the boat was owned by a “humble family” and had no connection to drug trafficking.
Earlier in October, President Petro criticized Washington’s maritime interventions near Venezuela, which began in September.
He described them as “an aggression against all of Latin America and the Caribbean,” alleging that the real objective behind the operations was not to combat narcotics trafficking, but to seize control of the region’s oil resources.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan officials argue that the strikes are part of a broader US effort to unseat President Nicolas Maduro. Caracas has denied any links to drug cartels and pledged to defend its territory from any foreign incursion.
The incident occurred on Friday, when the vessel was targeted and destroyed. Following the strike, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shared a video of the event on the platform X, stating that US intelligence indicated the boat was “affiliated” with the ELN and had been “involved in illicit narcotics smuggling.”
In response, the ELN released a public statement on social media on Tuesday, asserting that it “does not and will not have any boat connected with drug trafficking activities, neither in the Caribbean nor any other ocean.”
The group emphasized that drug smuggling is “simply… prohibited” under its internal rules. The declaration was reported by a news agency.
The ELN, which adheres to a Marxist-Leninist ideology, is Colombia’s oldest guerrilla movement, having waged a conflict against the state since the 1960s.
The United States government claims the group also has operations in neighboring Venezuela. Due to its armed actions and political stance, the ELN is classified as a terrorist group by the US, the European Union, and several other nations.
On Monday, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro spoke out against the US operation, which reportedly resulted in the deaths of three individuals aboard the targeted vessel.
He stated the boat was owned by a “humble family” and had no connection to drug trafficking.
Earlier in October, President Petro criticized Washington’s maritime interventions near Venezuela, which began in September.
He described them as “an aggression against all of Latin America and the Caribbean,” alleging that the real objective behind the operations was not to combat narcotics trafficking, but to seize control of the region’s oil resources.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan officials argue that the strikes are part of a broader US effort to unseat President Nicolas Maduro. Caracas has denied any links to drug cartels and pledged to defend its territory from any foreign incursion.
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