ELN (Ejército de Liberación Nacional)

The Ejército de Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Army), commonly known as the ELN, is a Colombian Marxist-Leninist guerrilla organization founded in 1964 by a group of students, intellectuals, and Catholic radicals influenced by the Cuban Revolution and the liberation theology movement. Its most iconic early figure was the priest Camilo Torres Restrepo, who was killed in combat in 1966. Throughout its history the ELN has used kidnapping for ransom, attacks on oil infrastructure (notably the Caño Limón–Coveñas pipeline), and extortion as funding mechanisms, alongside drug-related revenue.

The ELN is distinct from the larger FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), which demobilized after the 2016 Havana peace accord with the government of Juan Manuel Santos. The ELN did not sign that agreement. Separate peace talks have been attempted repeatedly:

• Negotiations in Cuba and Venezuela under Santos (2017–2018) were suspended after a January 2019 ELN car-bombing of the General Santander Police Academy in Bogotá that killed more than 20 cadets.
• Talks resumed under President Gustavo Petro in late 2022 as part of his "Total Peace" (Paz Total) policy, with rounds held in Caracas, Mexico City, and Havana, producing a bilateral ceasefire in August 2023.
• That ceasefire collapsed in 2024–2025 amid ELN offensives in Catatumbo (Norte de Santander) against civilians and rival armed groups.

The ELN operates a federated structure of regional "fronts" with significant autonomy, which has historically complicated negotiations because field commanders may reject central agreements. It maintains a strong presence along the Colombia–Venezuela border, in Arauca, Chocó, and Nariño. The group is designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States and the European Union. Estimates of its armed strength have generally ranged in the low thousands of combatants, plus urban militias and support networks.