At least 10 members of Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN), including two key leaders, were killed in a military operation in the country's southwest, President Abelardo de la Espriella announced on Sunday. He described the operation as 'the hardest blow' to hit the guerrilla group in the last eight years.
Source: Associated Press
Awaaz Punjab reported on Thursday that nine ELN members were reported killed in a bombing in Cauca, with the president himself cautioning that the figures were preliminary and pending fingerprint verification. Sunday's announcement raises the toll to at least 10 and names a second senior commander. Read the earlier report
The operation, named Ónix, was carried out jointly by Colombia's Military Forces and National Police in a rural area of El Tambo, in the Cauca department of the Pacific region, according to European reporting of the announcement. Authorities said they seized seven rifles, a pistol and two grenades, and found a camp able to house about 25 people.
Source: Demócrata (Europa Press)
The two commanders were known as 'Marcos Pacífico' — identified earlier as Neftalí Riascos Alegría — and 'Ochenta', also called 'Murillo', both senior figures in the 'José María Becerra' bloc of the ELN's southwestern front. The president said their deaths had disrupted the group's chain of command and its ability to direct criminal activities.
Source: Associated Press via Newsline24
De la Espriella accused 'Marcos Pacífico' of killing 62 people, recruiting minors and displacing some 500 people during 24 years with the guerrilla group, and said his influence extended across ELN units in Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Nariño. He also accused him of masterminding unrest linked to urban terrorism in 2019 and 2021. These are the president's allegations against the commander, stated here as his account.
Source: Associated Press via Newsline24
The president acknowledged that the single operation 'does not end the threat' posed by the ELN, which could regroup. The toll and the commanders' deaths come from the president and the security forces; the ELN had not publicly confirmed them in the reports, and independent verification was not available.