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Security updates

The fight against the armed groups

What happened, what it means, and how people are reacting. Special reports on one place come first, then the updates, newest first. Tap one to read it.

Latest: October 17, 2026, 6:53 PM Breaking news 26 updates

Special report  ·  Updated October 6, 2026

Security in Cauca

Cauca is where Colombia's armed groups are strongest. This is who holds power there, how they use it, and what it means.

  • Why Cauca
  • Santander de Quilichao
  • Who has the guns
  • The indigenous reserves
  • Land taken by force
  • The armed groups run the countryside
  • The children
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Special report  ·  Updated October 6, 2026

Security in Catatumbo and Cúcuta

Catatumbo is the ELN's stronghold and Colombia's second-biggest coca region. This is who holds power there, what the war has done to the people who live there, and what the government is doing about it.

  • Why Catatumbo
  • Who has the guns
  • The war on soldiers and police
  • The roads
  • Still forcing people out
  • The government's answer
Read the report →

Special report  ·  Updated October 6, 2026

Security on the Ecuador Border

The Ecuador border is where Colombia's cocaine starts its trip out of the country. This is who controls it, how they work with Ecuador's gangs, and what it means.

  • Why the Ecuador border
  • Who has the guns
  • One business on both sides of the border
  • Colombia hunts Ecuador's gangsters too
  • Votes under orders
  • The border crossing
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Special report  ·  Updated October 6, 2026

Security in Gulf Clan Country

The Gulf Clan is the biggest armed group in Colombia. This is how big it is, how it makes its money, and what the new government is doing about it.

  • The biggest armed group
  • The money
  • Its leaders are falling
  • No more peace talks
  • Not the only armed group
Read the report →

Special report  ·  Updated October 6, 2026

Security on the Caribbean Coast

The Caribbean coast is where Colombia's tourists go, and where the armed groups tax almost every business. This is who runs it, and what it means for the people who live and travel there.

  • Who runs the Sierra Nevada
  • The four-day shutdown
  • A tax on almost every business
  • La Guajira and the Venezuela border
  • Barranquilla's gang war
Read the report →

October 17, 2026, 6:53 PM

October 17: a bomb hits police in rural Cali, and 27 rifles found in Santa Marta

Here's what happened since the last update, and what each one means.

  • A bomb hits police in rural Cali
  • A bus burned on the Málaga–Cerrito road in Santander
  • 27 rifles found in a cache in Santa Marta
  • A Jaime Martínez cell taken apart in Cali and Jamundí
  • 3,688 kilos of cocaine at sea, and an ELN cocaine complex destroyed
  • Rewards of up to 150 million pesos in the Jamundí attack
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October 16, 2026, 7:18 PM

October 16: drones hit a police station in Teruel, and the ESMAD is back

Here's what happened since the last update, and what each one means.

  • A drone attack on the police station in Teruel, Huila
  • Cali's mayor links the grenade suspect to Mordisco's dissidents
  • "Julito" captured in Bucaramanga
  • The ESMAD is back
  • Plan Meteoro comes back to guard the highways
  • Argentina will extradite a man in the Miguel Uribe Turbay case
Read the update →

October 15, 2026, 7:11 PM

October 15: 4 dead in a bus on the Pan-American, and drones attack police in Huila

Here's what happened since the last update, and what each one means.

  • 4 dead in a bus on the Pan-American, and the driver says they were shot at
  • Drones attack a police station in Huila
  • 9 dissidents captured in Bugalagrande, with a drone grenade
  • A Gulf Clan zone commander captured in Antioquia
  • 1,460 kilos of cocaine at sea, and 13 arrests in La Guajira
  • 2 foreigners dead after a music festival in Medellín
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October 10, 2026

October 10: an army sergeant killed on the Pan-American and a Gulf Clan leader wanted in Texas

Here's what happened since the last update, and what each one means.

  • An army sergeant killed in an attack on the Pan-American Highway near Popayán
  • "Niño Potro," a Gulf Clan leader wanted in Texas, captured in Nuquí
  • Drone attacks on the security forces hit a record
  • 400 soldiers and anti-drone protection for police stations in Huila
  • 2 Ecuadorians lured with a fake mining deal, kidnapped and rescued in Putumayo
  • "María José," accused of luring teenagers into the dissidents in Guaviare, captured
Read the update →

October 9, 2026, 6:04 PM

October 9: a vehicle bomb on the Pan-American and fuel blocked in Segovia

Here's what happened since the last update, and what each one means.

  • A vehicle bomb goes off on the Pan-American Highway in Patía
  • Armed groups block fuel and food in rural Segovia
  • 1,042 kilos of cocaine seized on the Meta River, linked to the ELN
  • A shop owner killed in Soledad over extortion
  • The UN: 1,173 children forced into armed groups since 2024
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October 7, 2026

October 7: a terrorist list and a warning to the CRIC

Here's what happened since the last update, and what each one means.

  • A new anti-terrorism law
  • A warning to the CRIC
  • Massacre number 97 in Segovia, Antioquia
  • "Mongolo" captured near Santa Marta
  • Jail for 2 men in the Cali truck bomb case
  • An armed strike was being planned in Caquetá
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October 6, 2026, 6:34 PM

October 6: 400 kilos of explosives stopped on the way to Cali

Here's what happened since the last update, and what each one means.

  • 400 kilos of explosives stopped on the way to Cali
  • "La Morocha" captured in Caquetá
  • The UNGRD's López and Pinilla moved to La Picota
  • Legal help for the ex-soldiers in the Haiti case
  • US attack drones sent to Colombia and Ecuador
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October 4, 2026

Week of September 28 to October 4

Here's what happened this week in the fight against the armed groups, and what each one means.

  • The groups hit back with drones
  • Alias "Terry" killed in Antioquia
  • An ultimatum in Sucre
  • 1.2 tons of cocaine seized in Meta
  • Operation Perla: 148 arrests for kidnapping and extortion
  • Private security companies
  • Santa Marta
Read the update →