Venezuelan military strikes ELN camp near Colombia border, at least 19 dead

Venezuelan armed forces attacked an alleged ELN drug storage center in Apure state near the Colombia border, killing at least 19 people, including a woman and a pilot. The operation ran from Thursday, October 29, 2026, between Buena Vista del Meta and Guafilla, a rural locality in the Codazzi parish of Pedro Camejo municipality.

The strike began with drones that destroyed aircraft attributed to the ELN and camouflaged among vegetation. Buena Vista del Meta hosts a Bolivarian National Guard border protection base used for river and border control.

“It is unusual for the Venezuelan Armed Forces to launch large-scale operations against criminal groups operating in that territory, such as the ELN, for several decades.”

Nine bodies were taken to the Luis Herrera cemetery morgue in San Fernando de Apure, while ten others reportedly remained at the attack site pending official confirmation. Residents of Puerto Páez, the nearest populated center, provided names and identity documents found in the area.

Identified individuals include Olinda Moraima Camacho de Solórzano, Juan Carlos Guerrero Márquez, Nelson Magallanes, Wilden Luis Solorzano Camacho, Gabriel Carlos Bruzual, Luis Alexander Solórzano Camacho, and Jesús Javier Bruzual Carrero. Some fallen guerrillas reportedly held Venezuelan identity cards, Carné de la Patria, and driver’s licenses.

The Ministry of Defense has not issued an official version of the operation or the victim count. The interim government of Delcy Rodríguez has not commented on the matter either.

An undetermined number of wounded reportedly reached Colombian territory after the attack, raising alarms on that side of the border.