In brief
In an operation titled "Noah" near the Venezuelan border, the Colombian military reportedly struck FARC dissident factions, killing four and detaining six crew members. The president highlighted the capture of a key leader known as "Barba Chivo," asserting the campaign would continue until top commanders are brought to justice.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella on Thursday announced that an airstrike in the Catatumbo region near Venezuela had killed four members of the disbanded Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) dissident factions and captured six additional militants.
The operation, code‑named Noah, was carried out in the rural municipality of Tibu in the Norte de Santander department, according to the president’s statement posted on the social media platform X.
President de la Espriella said the strike was designed to “neutralize criminal elements that attempt to sow terror and exert control over the Catatumbo area through violence,” and that the National Army and the Colombian Air Force had collaborated on the offensive.
"In a decisive military operation that I authorized in a rural area of Tibu, Norte de Santander (department), our National Army and Colombian Air Force struck this criminal organization, which seeks to sow terror and exert control over Catatumbo through fire and bloodshed,"
the president posted on X.
Among the captured militants was a rebel leader who goes by the alias Barba Chivo, who Yanez identified as a close associate of Andrey Avendano, the top commander of the so‑called "Structure 33" faction of the FARC dissidents operating in Tibu.
De la Espriella also reported that the operation seized seven rifles and 15 drone‑dropped grenades, and that it neutralized three encampments capable of housing roughly 35 members of the criminal organization.
The president reiterated that his government would persist in targeting FARC dissident groups until their senior leaders were apprehended and held accountable for the attacks carried out by the group.
He added that since taking office on August 7, De la Espriella had ordered seven bombing raids against assorted armed criminal and rebel groups across the Catatumbo region and beyond, including incidents in Guaviare and Choco.
Those raids had focused on two main factions of the FARC dissidents, the National Liberation Army and the criminal group known as the Clan del Golfo.
Earlier this year, Colombian authorities had condemned an alleged attempt by the FARC dissidents to re‑establish control over smaller communities, citing the widespread use of firearms and improvised explosive devices.
The president stressed that the current operation was part of a broader strategy to dismantle the economic and supply networks that sustain the factions’ criminal activities along the Venezuelan border.
He warned that the campaign would continue in a systematic manner, targeting key leadership nodes and infrastructure that the rebels rely on for logistics.
Officials provided no further details on casualties among the 15 captured militants; it was not indicated whether any of them held high-ranking positions beyond the spokesperson, Barba Chivo.
In the weeks before the strike, the Colombian armed forces had laid low‑profile surveillance on suspected FARC camps in the same region, conducting air‑borne reconnaissance missions that were said to confirm the presence of concealed artillery and drone launch pads.
President de la Espriella said the operation’s success was validated by intelligence reports indicating that the 35-strong camp had been partially emptied overnight.
The national government pledged that any captured rebels would be subjected to judicial proceedings consistent with Colombian law and international conventions concerning the treatment of combatants.
Analysts noted that repeated airstrikes in the Catatumbo region might influence the broader security dynamics across the country’s northern border, especially given the proximity to Venezuelan supply routes that the dissidents allegedly exploit.
Other officials from the Ministry of Defense highlighted that the military’s ability to conduct joint air and ground operations had improved, citing recent training exercises in the region.
Meanwhile, regional human rights advocates called for transparent reporting on the conditions in which the captured militants were detained, urging the government to uphold due process standards.
In a separate statement, the Colombian National Police indicated that they were coordinating with the Army to secure additional sites that could serve as logistical nodes for the dissident groups.
The President closed his announcement by reaffirming the commitment to “eradicate the criminal influence of FARC dissidents and restore peace to the Catatumbo region.”
