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The U.S. Embassy in Colombia issued a security alert on September 3 warning of an elevated risk of attacks in Cesar department, a mining and farming region in the country's Caribbean north. The embassy pointed to the National Liberation Army, known as the ELN, which Washington designates as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. It said armed groups had carried out repeated strikes across the department in 2026 using drones loaded with explosives.
The alert set out a series of recent incidents. In July, a drone attack on the police substation at El Burro, in the municipality of Pailitas, wounded five officers. In August, an armed assault around Curumaní and San Roque killed a police officer. Late in the month, further drone strikes in the south of the department injured several soldiers, Colombian outlet Infobae reported. Each of the strikes targeted fixed police or army positions.
The embassy said illegal armed groups could launch more attacks with little or no warning against police stations, government buildings, military installations and related infrastructure. It restricted U.S. government personnel from traveling to parts of Cesar while the threat remains. Americans in the region were told to stay alert near security force sites and main roads, avoid crowds and demonstrations, keep a low profile and keep their phones charged.
The warning reflects a wider spread of drone violence across Colombia this year. The broader State Department travel advisory tells Americans not to visit Arauca, Norte de Santander, and parts of Cauca and Valle del Cauca, and to stay more than 10 kilometers from the border with Venezuela, where kidnapping and clashes between armed groups are common.
Colombian authorities have moved to respond. After a security council on August 28, the government announced a shock plan for Cesar that includes anti-drone systems in El Copey, Curumaní, La Jagua de Ibirico and Pelaya, with the measures set to extend to the departmental capital, Valledupar. The government also ordered extra protection for oil pipelines and strategic sites, saying it wants to cut off the funding armed groups draw from illegal mining and fuel. The alert landed days before U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was due to visit Barranquilla, about 230 kilometers to the north.
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