CARACAS, BOGOTA – The Colombia–Venezuela border has become a strategic stronghold for the ELN guerrilla group and dissident factions of the former FARC, according to investigative reporting that cites intelligence findings alleging cooperation between armed groups and senior Venezuelan security officials in narcotics trafficking.
A report published this week by the Investigative Unit of Noticias Caracol says intelligence documents describe how illegal armed groups operate on both sides of the border and work with high-ranking figures in Venezuela in activities tied to the drug trade.
In parallel reporting, Caracol has also referenced intelligence material describing the so-called “Cartel of the Suns,” a criminal network allegedly involving senior Venezuelan military figures, and claims that it coordinates with the ELN to facilitate the movement of cocaine, weapons and other illicit cargo across border regions. The report identifies Venezuelan states such as Apure, Táchira and Zulia as key areas where Colombian armed actors are said to operate with protection that enables training, refuge and trafficking routes toward Caribbean ports.
The allegations are not new in regional security debates, but Caracol’s reporting says the latest intelligence findings provide additional detail on clandestine logistics, including unauthorized airstrips and cross-border operational corridors used by armed groups.
Analysts warn that the entrenchment of guerrillas and criminal syndicates in Venezuelan border territory has broad implications for regional stability, particularly given the importance of the corridor for coca cultivation and trafficking routes. Recent violence in Colombia’s Catatumbo region, near the Venezuelan border, has driven displacement and renewed attention to the fight between the ELN and FARC dissident groups for territorial control.
The wider context is a region where armed groups, illegal mining networks and corrupt actors can become deeply interlinked, complicating enforcement and any political transition efforts. A recent international analysis of Venezuela’s security landscape described a fragmented environment in which guerrilla groups and criminal structures operate alongside elements of the state, creating risks for governance and border control.
For Curaçao and the wider Caribbean, security observers have long noted that instability and illicit trafficking networks in northern South America can have spillover effects, including drug-smuggling routes that move through maritime corridors and toward Caribbean ports. While the reports focus on border areas, the dynamics they describe underscore why Caribbean jurisdictions closely track developments on the mainland, especially when they involve alleged state protection for transnational crime.