ELN Commander 'El Flaco' Captured as Fighters Seize Police Sub-Station in Catatumbo
Security forces arrested a top ELN commander in Cauca in a pre-dawn raid, while armed fighters occupied a police post in the Catatumbo region hours later.
Colombian security forces and prosecutors' investigators captured presumed ELN commander alias 'El Flaco,' of the Manuel Vásquez Castaño front, in a joint pre-dawn operation on September 10 in La Sierra, Cauca.
Shortly after the arrest was announced, residents of Guamalito, in the Catatumbo region, reported that presumed ELN fighters had occupied the local police sub-station following the evacuation of its officers, signaling a sharp escalation in the conflict.
The back-to-back developments come just days after President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella withdrew government negotiators from the ELN peace table, a decision that has sharpened the political stakes around the ongoing armed conflict.
The simultaneous capture and territorial provocation underscore the volatile security landscape that de la Espriella will inherit when he takes office, with the ELN appearing to respond to the breakdown in talks with renewed aggression in areas it has long contested.
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Reportado por El Paisa, nuestro corresponsal colombiano.