The US takes its anti-narcotics war onto Venezuelan soil with a drone strike against the ELN

An alleged ELN base in Puerto Páez, Apure state, was bombed last Friday. Human rights groups reported at least 20 deaths, while Fundaredes counted 23. Venezuelan officials did not officially confirm the strike, leaving key details disputed.

The New York Times reported that the United States supplied intelligence and drone support. Four U.S. officials described the operation, and a senior Venezuelan military officer confirmed the attack. Residents reported a bombing, while local journalists identified eight dead people.

The strike matters because it appears to move the United States’ anti-drug campaign onto Venezuelan territory. It followed earlier attacks on vessels near Venezuela and Colombia and a reported June airstrike against Tren de Aragua’s leader. Washington and Caracas were also reportedly considering deploying U.S. troops in Venezuela.

The ELN, or National Liberation Army, is a Colombian guerrilla organization. The article describes it as an irregular armed group that has moved into Venezuela and established operations in border states. It is not presented as Venezuela’s official military or as a conventional army under normal state command.

Its activities also overlap with organized crime. The ELN reportedly controls clandestine airstrips, distributes cocaine, and participates in fuel and mineral smuggling. It also collects extortion payments. These activities help it finance armed operations and maintain influence in territory where state control is limited.

The distinction matters because the group is both political and criminal in the article’s account. It has fighters, bases, and territorial ambitions, but it is also linked to trafficking networks. Investigative reporting estimates between 900 and 2,000 ELN fighters across at least 38 Venezuelan border municipalities.

The reported death toll was not settled. Human rights organizations said at least 20 people died, while Fundaredes counted 23 deaths and an undetermined number of wounded. Venezuelan authorities did not confirm the incident, so the final toll remained uncertain.

Local reporters identified eight of the dead through information from a morgue, hospital, and cemetery. Those identified included two Colombians and four Mexicans. The reported victims were connected to an ELN base near Puerto Páez that survivors and residents described as a cocaine distribution center.

The ELN’s reported presence is also large and geographically spread out. Investigative reporting estimated 900 to 2,000 fighters in at least 38 municipalities across Apure, Amazonas, Táchira, and Zulia. The group reportedly controls airstrips and participates in drug trafficking, smuggling, and extortion.

A U.S.-supported operation inside Venezuela would mark a major expansion of Washington’s anti-narcotics campaign. The article describes a shift from attacks on vessels near Venezuela and Colombia toward ground operations inside Venezuela. That could make drug enforcement a direct military issue between states and armed groups.

The strike also coincided with heightened border tensions. Venezuela sent troops toward the Colombian border after Colombia militarized Norte de Santander. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said Venezuela did not want internal conflicts that were not its own, while authorities ordered an investigation into “strange deaths.”

The future consequences remain uncertain in the article. Washington and Caracas were reportedly considering deploying U.S. troops in Venezuela. Any such move would extend the U.S. tutelage described since Maduro’s capture and could further involve Venezuela’s military, Colombian border areas, and armed groups operating there.

The ELN has established bases in Venezuela after withdrawing into the country from Colombia. The article links its presence to years of alleged inaction by Venezuelan authorities and accusations that the chavista regime sheltered ELN fighters and FARC dissidents. The government has denied those accusations.

Investigative reporting places 900 to 2,000 ELN fighters in at least 38 municipalities in Apure, Amazonas, Táchira, and Zulia. The group reportedly controls clandestine airstrips used for drug trafficking. Fundaredes described the Apure base as a cocaine distribution center.

The ELN’s reported activities extend beyond cocaine. It is also involved in fuel and mineral smuggling and extortion. Reports by the International Crisis Group additionally accused the group of controlling mines in southern Venezuela and operating as an armed ally of the Armed Forces against other criminal organizations.

The 2016 peace agreement changed the armed landscape along the Colombia-Venezuela border. Some FARC fighters rejected or left the agreement and formed dissident groups. Those groups entered territories where the ELN was already operating, increasing competition over routes, resources, and local influence.

The article describes a major 2021 confrontation. Maduro’s government launched an operation against FARC groups contesting territory with the ELN. The fighting displaced more than 5,000 people from Venezuela into Arauca, Colombia. Venezuelan forces fought the FARC dissidents, while they had previously avoided action against the ELN.

The conflict also affected civil society and reporting. Javier Tarazona of Fundaredes was detained after raising concerns about irregular groups’ presence. He was released this year amid a political opening described as being forced by the United States. The border therefore became a zone of displacement, armed rivalry, and political tension.

Cross-border cocaine trafficking depends on moving drugs through areas where borders are difficult to monitor. In this case, the article links an ELN base in Apure to cocaine distribution and reports that the group controls clandestine airstrips. Those facilities can connect remote Venezuelan territory with routes leading toward Colombia and the United States.

The basic mechanism is concealment and mobility. Aircraft can use hidden landing sites, while armed groups protect routes, storage points, and distribution centers. Border territories are useful because traffickers can cross between jurisdictions, complicate investigations, and exploit gaps between national security forces. The article also links the ELN to fuel and mineral smuggling.

The reported network matters because it combines geography, armed control, and corruption or inaction allegations. Investigators estimate ELN operations across 38 Venezuelan municipalities. The U.S.-supported strike shows how trafficking routes can become targets of military operations, raising wider Venezuela-Colombia tensions.