SUMMARY

The conflict between ELN and EMBF was over drug trafficking routes in the Catatumbo region, near the border with Venezuela. ELN had a historical presence in the region dating to the 1980's, which had only been strengthened after Nicolás Maduros’ election in Venezuela and the FARC's demobilization process in 2016. Filling the empty drug trafficking corridors in the territory, ELN established itself as the dominant actor of the border region. This conflict was mainly focused in the Tibú and El Tarra municipalities.

The violence can be traced back to 2025 when these groups clashed over an alleged killing of a family, owners of a funeral home, accused of picking up EMBF's corpses after being instructed by the ELN to not engage with this group. The quick escalation of violence caused the biggest forced displacement in the history of the country, as more than 100,000 people were displaced.

The non-state conflict between ELN and EMBF was first included in UCDP data in 2025.