CARACAS — Venezuela's army attacked Colombian leftist rebels camped on its side of the border, leaving several people dead, an NGO told AFP on Saturday. Friday's attack marked the first time Venezuela has attacked National Liberation Army (ELN) forces camped inside Venezuela, said Javier Tarazona, director of the NGO Fundaredes.

Source: AFP via AzerNews, Nov 1, 2026

Colombian radio station Blu Radio put the toll far higher: at least 19 people killed in an alleged Venezuelan military bombing of the ELN camp at Buena Vista del Meta in Apure state, near the Colombian border. Nine bodies were reportedly transferred to San Fernando de Apure, the state capital, for forensic examinations, another 10 bodies reportedly remained at the site, and an undetermined number of wounded people were said to have crossed into Colombian territory, Blu Radio reported. The victims' identities have not been officially confirmed.

Source: Blu Radio via EuropeSays, Nov 1, 2026

Fundaredes shared video footage, reportedly recorded on October 30 in a forested area of Apure state, showing several bodies scattered across the ground, fallen trees and the wreckage of what appeared to be a camp. A Fundaredes staff member counted nine bodies at the scene, Tarazona said. Fundaredes and human rights activist and military affairs expert Rocio San Miguel said information from local residents pointed to around 10 additional deaths among ELN members. Former Venezuelan lawmaker Juan Francisco Garcia Escalona, who coordinates Fundaredes in Apure, said he had received testimonies about a military operation in the area.

9 bodiescounted at the scene by a Fundaredes staff member (AFP)
At least 19 killedtotal reported by Blu Radio, citing preliminary accounts — not officially confirmed
2,219 kmlength of the Colombia-Venezuela border, where ELN, FARC-breakaway factions and other armed groups operate (AFP)
0 statementsfrom Venezuela's interim government on the reported bombing at the time of reporting

The ELN is considered the most powerful active guerrilla organisation in the region since the main faction of Colombia's FARC disarmed in 2016, AFP noted. Other armed groups operate along the 2,219-kilometre Colombia-Venezuela border, including factions that broke away from the former FARC, and they compete for revenues from drug trafficking and illegal mining. Bogota has long accused the Venezuelan authorities of providing shelter to illegal armed groups operating in Colombia, and Garcia Escalona linked reported recent clashes in the border region — in Los Pijiguaos, in western Bolivar state, and near Paso del Burro, along the Meta-Orinoco river border area — to disputes over control of areas used for mineral extraction, including bauxite and coltan.

Venezuela's interim government, led by Delcy Rodriguez, had not issued a statement on the alleged bombing, Blu Radio reported, and the Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. Awaaz Punjab is reporting this as a reported attack: the bombing, the camp's ownership and every casualty figure rest on the NGO, residents and media accounts above, not on any official confirmation from Caracas, Bogota or the ELN.

What is solid

  • An NGO, Fundaredes, told AFP that Venezuela's army attacked an ELN camp inside Venezuela on Friday and shared video it says was recorded on Oct 30 in Apure state; its staff member counted nine bodies
  • Colombian radio Blu Radio reported at least 19 killed at Buena Vista del Meta, with nine bodies reportedly taken to San Fernando de Apure for forensic examination
  • Venezuela's interim government had not commented and the victims' identities have not been officially confirmed

What is only claimed

  • The total death toll: nine bodies counted at the scene (Fundaredes via AFP) versus at least 19 reported (Blu Radio) versus at least 20 in some other reporting — no figure is official
  • Whether all the dead were ELN members, and whether the strike was a bombing as described, has not been independently or officially verified