Where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, lightning strikes up to 300 times a year for as many as 9 hours a night. "Catatumbo Lightning," also known as the Maracaibo Beacon, holds the Guinness World Record for the "highest concentration of lightning,

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.

Social movements and community organizations demand peace as violence breaks out in the northeastern region of Colombia.

The mountains of Catatumbo in eastern Colombia are so dangerous that the police and army generally don’t stray far from their barracks for fear of snipers.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Thursday that he has been in contact with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to implement an action plan to prevent armed groups from crossing the border, following a week of violent clashes that authorities estimate have left between 60 and 80 dead.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says he will declare an emergency over the guerrilla attacks in the northeast that have killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee.

More than 80 people were killed in the country’s northeast over the weekend following the government’s failed attempts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said.

Residents cross a river to Venezuela from Colombia's Tibu, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, following guerrilla attacks that killed dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes in the Catatumbo region.

WOLA joins the United Nations, Human Rights Ombudsman, Defendemos la Paz, and others calling for an immediate end to the violence perpetrated by illegal armed groups in the Catatumbo region in Colombia,