A humanitarian mission led by the Ombudsman’s Office and the UN returned with a chilling report from the municipalities of Tibú and El Tarra, in Catatumbo: entire communities are “kidnapped” in their own homes, without gas, without food and under the constant threat of drones loaded with explosives.

The war in Catatumbo between the ELN and the 33rd Front of the FARC dissidents has turned towns like Filogringo into ghost towns.

In these places, the ELN imposed an armed strike since December that completely cut off the supply of food.

In Filogringo, the barbarity reached the point that a medical mission was attacked with bombs, forcing the withdrawal of the only doctors left in the area.

The most alarming thing is the trace left by the fighting. In the parks and patios of houses in El Tarra, unexploded devices have been found within the reach of children and young people.

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The Ombudsman, Iris Marín, denounced that there are already more than 1,000 displaced people so far in 2026, fleeing not only from bullets, but from the psychological anxiety generated by drones and antipersonnel mines planted on the trails.

“People want to work and educate their children, but today they can only think about surviving,” said Marín.

Although the Army has reinforced its presence in Cúcuta and the border, the heart of Catatumbo continues to be a territory where armed groups dictate the law.

The Humanitarian Commission launched an urgent call to respect International Humanitarian Law and allow the entry of permanent aid, since the kits delivered by the Government are just a “washcloth” in the face of a confinement that has already lasted for weeks. If the State does not act with a real institutional presence, the region runs the risk of being completely uninhabited.

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