One Year of Chaos in Catatumbo: Guerrilla Conflict and Government Failures Expose Border Security Crisis

For over a year, the Catatumbo region on Colombia’s volatile border with Venezuela has been engulfed in a ruthless guerrilla clash between the ELN and FARC dissidents. This brutal struggle for control over territory and illicit economies—including drug trafficking—has led to nearly 100 deaths and forced more than 100,000 people from their homes. This ongoing crisis is not just a foreign tragedy; it directly impacts American interests by exacerbating instability at our southern border. How long will policymakers in Washington continue to ignore the regional chaos that fuels transnational crime networks threatening U.S. national security? Why Has the Colombian Government’s...