Colombia Offensive Hits Armed Groups in Five Regions
COLOMBIA · SECURITY
Key Facts
- —The country Colombia, on South America’s northern tip, has faced armed groups for six decades: guerrillas, their breakaway factions and drug-trafficking gangs.
- —The background President Abelardo de la Espriella, in office since 7 August, has ordered a tougher military and police offensive against these groups.
- —Why now On Sunday 4 October he announced arrests and seizures in Tolima, Huila, Norte de Santander, Atlántico and La Guajira, five of Colombia’s 32 departments.
- —What happened The same morning, gunmen and explosive-carrying drones attacked the police station in El Peñol, a town in Nariño, on market day.
- —The numbers Troops found 100 drone grenades holding about a tonne of explosives; one officer and one civilian were reported wounded in El Peñol.
- —What it means for you The violence hit mostly rural areas; the US already lists Norte de Santander as a “Do not travel” zone.
- —Still open By Monday morning no final toll had been issued for the El Peñol attack, and the group behind it had not been officially named.
Colombia’s military and police offensive brought arrests and seizures in five regions, President Abelardo de la Espriella said on Sunday 4 October. Among the finds were 100 grenades built to be dropped from drones.
That same morning, gunmen and drones carrying explosives attacked the police station in El Peñol, a small town in south-western Colombia. It was market day, and a police officer and a civilian were wounded, Blu Radio reported.
What the President Announced
De la Espriella, who took office on 7 August, posted the results on X, the social network. The Medellín daily El Colombiano listed the regions as Tolima, Huila, Norte de Santander, Atlántico and La Guajira.
Colombia is divided into 32 departments, roughly the equivalent of provinces or states. The five involved stretch from the Caribbean coast to the Andes and the border with Venezuela.
The figures are the government’s own account of its military and police offensive. Those arrested have not been convicted, and their cases now pass to prosecutors and judges.
The president swore in a new military and police high command on 26 August. He told the commanders to recover ground from armed groups and to treat them as terrorists.
A Suspect in a Deadly Army Ambush
In Ibagué, the capital of Tolima, police arrested a man known as “Camilo”, the president said. He is accused of working as an explosives expert and hitman for the Iván Díaz front.
That front belongs to the FARC dissidents, fighters who rejected the 2016 peace deal with the FARC guerrilla and kept fighting. Investigators link the suspect to an attack on an army patrol in Algeciras, Huila, on 12 August.
That attack killed two soldiers and wounded 16, the Barranquilla daily El Heraldo reported. The president also accused the suspect of extorting residents of Algeciras, Hobo and Campoalegre, three towns in Huila.
Drone Grenades Found Near the Venezuelan Border
The largest find of the military and police offensive came in Sardinata, a municipality in Norte de Santander on the Venezuelan border. Soldiers of the army’s Second Division, backed by the air force and police, found 100 high-powered grenades made for drones.
Together they held about a tonne of explosives, the news magazine Semana reported. The army blamed the Juan Fernando Porras Martínez front of the ELN, a Marxist guerrilla group founded in the 1960s.
According to Semana, the grenades were meant for attacks on the security forces and civilians, launched from drones and makeshift ramps. The president said the cache belonged to a commander known as “Iván”, the front’s third-ranking leader.
Drones carrying explosives have become a routine weapon in Colombia’s conflict, as reported on 11 August.
Gang Arrests on the Caribbean Coast
On the Caribbean coast, the military and police offensive reached Atlántico, where police and prosecutors ran an operation called Cazador, or Hunter. They arrested a man known as “Salchichón” in the north of Barranquilla, the region’s main city.
He is accused of being a ringleader of Los Porteños, a gang active in Puerto Colombia, a beach town next to Barranquilla. The accusations against him include homicide, drug trafficking and illegal possession of weapons, the local outlet Zona Cero reported.
The president said the suspect once ran an area for the Clan del Golfo, Colombia’s largest drug-trafficking organisation. Police seized a pistol, 43 rounds, eight mobile phones, cash and drugs.
Further east, in La Guajira on the border with Venezuela, police, soldiers and migration officers ran checks in Riohacha and Maicao. Twenty-three foreigners were expelled, and 260 others were taken in to have their status checked.
Drones Over a Market Town in Nariño
El Peñol is a rural municipality in the north-west of Nariño, a department on the border with Ecuador. It is not the El Peñol near Medellín that tourists know for its giant rock.
The attack began at 7:50 a.m. on Sunday, said Nariño’s governor, Luis Alfonso Escobar Jaramillo. Blu Radio reported more than three hours of rifle fire, with explosives dropped from drones onto the police station.
Clashes with the security forces then went on for more than ten hours, the Cali daily El País reported. The military sent Super Tucano attack planes and Black Hawk helicopters.
It was market day for local farmers, and residents were also attending Sunday mass. Residents ran for cover, and some hid in the church, the radio station reported.
Edwin Rivera, governor of the local reserve of the Quillasinga indigenous people, said his sister was hit in the leg by shrapnel. Indigenous reserves in Colombia elect their own governors, and Rivera said rifle rounds also struck his house.
A police officer was also wounded, Blu Radio said, and no deaths were reported. Blu Radio and El País blamed FARC dissidents, El País naming the faction led by a commander known as Iván Mordisco.
Residents pointed to the Franco Benavides front, the news site Agencia PI reported, but officials have not formally named who was responsible. The governor said the security forces were in control and had air support.
A Town Attacked Before
El Peñol’s police station has been targeted before: gunmen attacked it twice in nine days in November 2025, El Tiempo reported. One officer was wounded in the first attack.
Residents then also suspected the Franco Benavides front. “They won’t let us live in peace,” one resident told the Bogotá newspaper.
The Government’s Answer to Drones
Defence Minister Jorge Eduardo Mora said on Sunday the government is preparing systems to shield Colombia’s airspace from criminal drones. “We are not going to give narco-terrorism the advantage,” he said, Infobae reported.
He spoke at a military communications base in Facatativá, near Bogotá, and gave no budget or timeline. The interior, technology, science and justice ministries are also involved, according to Infobae.
Explosives have also killed soldiers in recent weeks: three died near La Macarena, in central Colombia, as reported on 22 September. The government presents its military and police offensive as the answer to such attacks.
What Comes Next
The suspects will now appear before judges, who decide whether the arrests were lawful and whether they stay in custody.
In El Peñol, the authorities were still assessing damage to the station and nearby homes on Monday, Semana reported. No definitive toll of injuries or damage had been released by then.
The results of the military and police offensive do not mean the armed groups are in retreat. The Sunday that brought arrests in five departments also brought more than ten hours of fighting in a town in a sixth.
For visitors, these events took place mostly in rural areas. The US State Department already rates Norte de Santander “Do not travel”, as the Colombia safety guide for 2026 explains.
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What did Colombia’s military and police offensive achieve on 4 October?
The president reported arrests in Tolima and Atlántico, migration checks in La Guajira and an arms find in Norte de Santander. The military and police offensive also found 100 grenades made for drones. None of the suspects has been convicted.
What happened in El Peñol, Nariño?
Gunmen and explosive-carrying drones attacked the town’s police station on Sunday morning, during market day, and clashes lasted more than ten hours. A police officer and a civilian woman were reported wounded, and no deaths were reported.
Who are the FARC dissidents and the ELN?
FARC dissidents are fighters who rejected the 2016 peace deal and kept their weapons, split into several rival factions. The ELN is an older Marxist guerrilla group that is still at war with the state.
Is it safe to travel to Colombia?
These attacks hit mostly rural areas that few visitors reach. The US already rates Norte de Santander “Do not travel”. Travellers should check their own government’s advice before trips outside the main cities.
Sources: El Colombiano, 4 October 2026; Blu Radio (president’s report), 4 October 2026; El Heraldo (alias Camilo), 4 October 2026; Semana (Sardinata), 5 October 2026; Zona Cero, 4 October 2026; Blu Radio (El Peñol), 4 October 2026; Infobae (El Peñol), 4 October 2026; El Heraldo (El Peñol), 4 October 2026; El País (Cali), 5 October 2026; Agencia PI, 4 October 2026; Semana (El Peñol), 5 October 2026; El Tiempo, 20 November 2025; Infobae (anti-drone plan), 5 October 2026; US State Department, accessed 5 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief