Minute30.com .- The capture of Nicolás Maduro not only changed the destiny of Venezuela; in Colombia, it would have caused a massive displacement of ELN guerrillas who operated in the neighboring country and who now seek to recover their former territories in Catatumbo with blood and fire. Given this situation, the Minister of Defense, Pedro Sánchez, announced the immediate activation of the “Border Plan.”
According to intelligence reports revealed in recent days by national media, the irregular movements began at the end of December 2025. The ELN, sensing the collapse of the Chavista regime that provided them protection, began a massive return to the department of Norte de Santander.
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The “strange” movement detected by Intelligence
Alarms went off in the armed forces when they detected that hundreds of subversives were crossing the border without a clear operational reason at that time:
“A massive movement of guerrillas was detected from Venezuela to Colombia. We knew that this movement was strange, there was no underlying reason for so many guerrillas to be mobilized. Today we understand that they anticipated the attack against Maduro,” said the head of the Defense portfolio.
War against FARC dissidents
Upon returning to Catatumbo, the ELN units found that the 33rd Front of the FARC dissidents had occupied their camps and drug trafficking routes.
This situation has led to high intensity combats in rural areas of Norte de Santander; Forced displacement of peasant communities that have been caught in the crossfire and the loss of safe places for the ELN has modified the military balance in the region, forcing the National Army to deploy elite units.
The Border Plan
With the implementation of the Border Plan, the National Government seeks to prevent the fall of the regime in Venezuela from translating into an escalation of uncontrollable violence in Colombia. The deployment includes increased aerial surveillance and the reinforcement of legal and illegal border crossings to contain the flow of armed groups.
The situation in Catatumbo is critical and it is expected that, with Maduro’s appearance in court on Monday, tension on the border will increase given the power vacuum on the Venezuelan side.
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