Colombia declares state of emergency amid escalating violence

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday declared a state of internal commotion in the northeastern Catatumbo region.

Petro made the declaration citing the humanitarian crisis after the recent attacks by the National Liberation Army guerrillas that left at least 80 dead and 11,000 displaced.

Condemning the attacks by the guerrillas, he said that the ELN became an armed group more permeated by drug trafficking and paramilitary culture.

Meanwhile, the armed forces continue to work to rescue civilians threatened by the ELN, especially peace signatories and their families in the municipalities of Teorama, el Tarra, Convencion, San Calixto, Hacari and Tibu.

The Ombudsman's Office called on the ELN and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia dissidents who are fighting in the region to open humanitarian spaces that allow the exit of vulnerable communities and the extraction of bodies by the authorities for full identification.