Global Situation Board
Actor · non-state · Americas

ELN (Colombia)

4High
Assessed 15 September 2026

Assessment

The ELN lost eight hostages on Sept 15 when army Gaula units freed them in rural Convencion, Norte de Santander, in an operation De la Espriella said was carried out with US assistance, eleven days after its Sept 4 assault on the El Trapiche military cantonment in Ocana killed two soldiers and wounded five. It remains the principal armed driver of escalation in Catatumbo and Norte de Santander against a government that revoked its negotiating delegation and all political status on Sept 11.

Recent, assessed

  • 2026-09-15Eight people held hostage by the ELN are freed by army Gaula units in rural Convencion, Norte de Santander, in an operation the president says had US assistance. infobae.com

Level history

Threat level after each research review12 September 2026 baseline: level 4; 12 September 2026 weekly review: level 4; 14 September 2026 weekly review: level 4; 15 September 2026 weekly review: level 41234512 September 2026, baseline: level 412 September 2026, weekly review: level 414 September 2026, weekly review: level 415 September 2026, weekly review: level 412 Sep14 Sep15 Septoday

Levels set by research reviews. A level set by hand is shown at the top of the page while it is in force and is not part of this history.

DateLevelReview
2026-09-154Weekly review
2026-09-144Weekly review
2026-09-124Weekly review
2026-09-124Baseline

Latest headlines 1

Matched to this entry by keyword from the pull of 19 Sep, 11:09 UTC. Not reviewed; some may be off-topic.