Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Monday that he will declare a state of emergency over the guerrilla attacks in the northeast that have killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee their homes.

Government sends troops into coca-rich northeast Catatumbo region in bid to quell hostilities among rebel groups.

More than 8,000 civilians fled the violence, with many seeking shelter in government facilities or hiding in the mountains.

President Gustavo Petro will appoint top aide, 30-year-old Laura Sarabia, as Colombia’s next foreign affairs minister, one the youngest-ever officials to assume the role.

The unusually deadly violence delivers a devastating blow to the “total peace” program of the country’s first leftist president, Gustavo Petro.

At least 80 people are dead and more than 18,000 have been forced to flee their homes in Colombia, officials say, amid fierce clashes between two rival armed groups on the border with Venezuela.

This was the country's deadliest wave of violence since the peace accords set by President Gustavo Petro in 2016

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced military action against the National Liberation Army (ELN) after a series of violent attacks. Despite peace talks initiated in 2022, violence in regions like Catatumbo has escalated,

It is the second time in less than a year that Colombian authorities halt peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, after blaming the rebel group for recent violence in the northeastern region of Tibu.

The Colombian border village of Tres Bocas has become a ghost town as residents flee to neighboring Venezuela to escape a new wave of violence that has left at least 80 people dead and displaced thousands in Colombia’s Catatumbo region.

Colombia has suspended peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, for a second time in less than a year after blaming the rebel group for violence that has been affecting the northeastern