An explosive-laden drone attack carried out by guerrilla fighters against an airport in northeastern Colombia left three people injured on Thursday, according to the Colombian military.
The army attributed the strike at the Tibú airport to the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group. The ELN maintains a heavy operational presence in Catatumbo, a volatile region bordering Venezuela that has become a flashpoint for intense insurgent violence.
“Three employees were injured by the shockwave,” the Colombian army stated on social media platform X, noting that military tanks have been deployed to reinforce security in Tibú. The blast also caused visible structural damage to the airport’s infrastructure, with videos circulating on social media showing a collapsed ceiling inside an airport office.
Armed groups in Colombia are increasingly utilizing commercial drones modified with explosive payloads to target security forces and civilian infrastructure. In the borderlands near Venezuela, ELN rebels and dissident factions of the former FARC guerrilla movement are locked in a brutal turf war over the control of illicit coca crops. Colombia remains the world’s largest producer of cocaine, which relies on coca as its primary ingredient.
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Since the beginning of 2025, these territorial clashes have claimed more than 100 lives and displaced tens of thousands of civilians. Kidnapping and extortion also remain rampant across the region as primary funding mechanisms for the illegal armed groups.
The attack comes amid a shifting political landscape in the South American nation. Colombia’s far-right President-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, recently issued a strict one-month ultimatum demanding that all criminal organizations and insurgents across the country surrender to authorities.
The deadline coincides with his upcoming presidential inauguration on August 7. De la Espriella has vowed that once the deadline expires, his administration will launch massive, systematic bombing campaigns targeting the strongholds of the country’s powerful drug cartels and guerrilla factions.
