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

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.

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.

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.

A fresh outbreak of guerrilla violence amid a faltering peace process in Colombia has left more than 80 people dead, including civilians, and displaced around 11,000 in just four days, officials reported Sunday.

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.

Officials said the attacks happened in several towns located in the Catatumbo region near the border with Venezuela, with at least three people who were part of the peace talks being kidnapped.

The ELN launched an assault in the northeastern Catatumbo region last Thursday on a rival group comprised of ex-members of the now-defunct FARC armed group who kept fighting after it disarmed in 2017.

Tens of thousands of refugees are fleeing one of Colombia’s biggest cocaine-producing regions to escape the most intense outbreak of violence since a 2016 peace deal.Most Read from BloombergHow Sanctu

In response to attacks by warring guerrilla factions that have killed dozens of people and displaced tens of