Symbolic imageUS-backed strike on ELN camp in Venezuela kills at least 20
An airstrike on a Colombian ELN camp in Venezuela's Apure state killed at least 20 people, according to rights groups. The New York Times reports that the US backed it with intelligence and drones.
The strike hit a camp near the Colombian border on Friday, 30 October. Fundaredes counted 23 dead and an undetermined number of wounded at a base reportedly used to distribute cocaine, while local reporters identified eight victims, among them two Colombians and four Mexicans. FAZ reports that some of the dead were civilians. Citing four US officials, the Times says Washington supplied intelligence and drones; who flew them is unclear, and a Venezuelan military source also mentions combat helicopters.
Caracas stays vague
Venezuela's government has not officially confirmed the strike, though a senior military officer confirmed it to the Times. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello spoke only of "strange deaths", sent scientific police to investigate and announced troops for the Colombian border.
A shift in policy
The ELN, with an estimated 900 to 2,000 fighters in Venezuela, operated largely unhindered under Nicolás Maduro, whom US forces captured in January. A June operation killed Tren de Aragua leader Héctor Guerrero Flores, and Colombia's government has ordered airstrikes of its own and announced closer security cooperation with Washington.