They're just hiding the bodies that fall here every day
Along the Venezuela-Colombia border, in the region known as Catatumbo, a slow erasure is underway — not only of lives, but of the very record of their loss. Since early May 2026, armed groups have executed civilians, displaced entire communities, and silenced journalists, while Venezuelan military authorities issue denials or say nothing at all. What is unfolding there is not merely a security crisis but a collapse of the social contract itself, in a frontier zone where the state has either retreated or merged with the forces it was meant to oppose.
- At least five civilians were executed on Mother's Day by roughly eighty armed men in military camouflage who arrived with lists of names, confiscated phones, and gave survivors 24 hours to abandon their homes.
- A local community judge, three other residents, and a Colombian national were among those killed — their deaths unacknowledged by any official authority in Venezuela.
- Colombian President Petro ordered airstrikes on ELN positions in Catatumbo claiming Venezuelan government coordination, while the ELN denied casualties and Venezuela's foreign minister blamed Colombia's internal conflict without mentioning the cross-border killings.
- Journalists covering the violence have been threatened, the mayor has issued no statement, and an informal curfew empties the town each night after 7 p.m. — order maintained not by law but by fear.
- With armed groups controlling coca fields, drug routes, and now the silence itself, Catatumbo has become a territory where the institutions of governance have either vanished or become indistinguishable from the violence they were meant to prevent.
The violence in Catatumbo has not stopped. It has only become harder to see.
Residents of Jesús María Semprúm, a Venezuelan border municipality in Zulia state, say armed clashes have continued unabated since at least May 7, 2026, despite official silence from military authorities. The territory — stretching from Tibú in Colombia to Semprúm in Venezuela — is a landscape of illegal trails and coca fields where competing armed groups fight for control of drug routes. Residents say they have been ordered to leave regardless of nationality, and local sources claim at least 25 people have died at a single agricultural facility, a figure no authority has confirmed or denied.
The most documented episode occurred on May 9, Mother's Day, when nearly eighty armed men in military-style uniforms arrived at Sector Playa Socorro. They detained residents, confiscated phones, and disabled Wi-Fi antennas before selecting specific men and taking them to separate locations. Four were executed: Luis Adolfo Ortiz Guerrero, a 34-year-old community judge; Melvin Alexis Rincón Rincón, 26; Leiver Alexis Ravelo Jaimes, 21; and a Colombian national with alleged ELN ties. A fifth person died under circumstances witnesses could not specify. The armed group detonated explosives at a house and gave remaining residents 24 hours to leave. No military or police forces appeared during the incident.
The silence that followed has been institutional as much as physical. The mayor issued no statement. A journalist who attempted to cover the events was threatened and warned against publishing. Social media threats have circulated against municipal council members, some of whom residents believe have ties to the ELN. Since the killings, an informal curfew has taken hold — the town empties after 7 p.m., enforced not by law but by fear.
On May 11, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced airstrikes against an ELN command post in Catatumbo, claiming Venezuelan government approval for the operation. The ELN denied casualties. Venezuela's foreign minister responded on May 13 with a statement of 'profound concern' that attributed the violence to Colombia's internal conflict — making no mention of the five people killed on Venezuelan soil three days earlier. On May 17, the Venezuelan military claimed its National Guard had killed an armed individual in a patrol exchange; local residents disputed the account entirely, saying the death occurred near a school under circumstances that bore no resemblance to the official version.
Catatumbo — known for its natural gas reserves and the famous lightning phenomenon visible for miles — has become a place where armed groups govern and the state has effectively withdrawn. The institutions meant to protect residents have either disappeared or, in some cases, become indistinguishable from the forces they were supposed to oppose.
The violence in Catatumbo has not stopped. It has only become harder to see.
Residents of Jesús María Semprúm, a municipality on Venezuela's border with Colombia, say the armed clashes that have defined their region for years continue unabated, despite official claims of reduced intensity. Since May 7, 2026, several people have been killed in the area, including five in the sector known as La Playa de Casigua El Cubo. The Venezuelan military has offered no public accounting of what is happening. A local resident told reporters: "The fighting goes on. They're just hiding the bodies that fall here every day in this war zone."
The territory stretches from Tibú on the Colombian side to Semprúm in Venezuela's Zulia state, a landscape of illegal trails and coca fields controlled by competing armed groups fighting for dominance over drug routes and territory. Residents say they received orders to leave, regardless of nationality. In Casigua El Cubo, locals speak of a death toll far higher than anything officially acknowledged. One source claimed at least 25 people have died at a single agricultural facility processing palm fruit. Neither the Venezuelan military nor local civilian authorities have issued any official statement about what is occurring.
On May 7, a police officer named Everh José Trujillo Centeno, known locally as Ñañito, was shot more than six times in Casigua El Cubo. Residents believed he had been instrumental in the downfall of a previous mayor imprisoned on drug trafficking charges. His death intensified the violence in the area. Two days later, on May 9—Mother's Day—nearly eighty armed men in military-style camouflage uniforms and boots arrived at Sector Playa Socorro. They detained residents, confiscated phones, and disabled Wi-Fi antennas. They selected men they apparently had information about and took them to separate locations. Four were executed: Luis Adolfo Ortiz Guerrero, a 34-year-old community judge; Melvin Alexis Rincón Rincón, 26; Leiver Alexis Ravelo Jaimes, 21; and a Colombian national linked to the ELN guerrilla group. A fifth person died under circumstances residents could not specify. The armed group detonated explosives at a house and gave residents 24 hours to abandon their land. No military or police forces arrived during the incident, according to witnesses. Afterward, forensic investigators collected evidence and transported bodies to a hospital morgue. Since then, an informal curfew has taken hold: the town empties after 7 p.m.
The silence extends to local government. The mayor has made no public statement. A journalist from a nearby town who attempted to cover the events was threatened and warned not to take photographs or publish information. Social media has circulated threats against the mayor and municipal council members, some of whom residents believe are connected to the ELN.
Meanwhile, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on May 11 that he had ordered airstrikes against an ELN command post in the Catatumbo region, claiming Venezuelan government approval. Colombian military officials said the operation targeted a strategic commission that provides security for the ELN's central command during movements between the two countries. The ELN responded through a video statement denying casualties and claiming the strike missed its target. Colombian military operations also reported killing members of other armed groups in separate operations across the country.
Venezuela's foreign minister issued a brief statement on May 13 expressing "profound concern" about the escalating violence, attributing it to Colombia's internal conflict—without mentioning that armed men had crossed into Venezuelan territory three days earlier and killed five people. On May 17, the Venezuelan military claimed its National Guard killed an armed individual during a patrol, describing an exchange of gunfire. Local residents disputed this account, saying no such firefight occurred and that the death happened near a school, not at the location the military specified.
The Catatumbo region, with its natural gas reserves, productive soil, and the famous Catatumbo lightning phenomenon visible for miles, has become a place where armed groups exercise control and the state has effectively withdrawn. Residents live under de facto curfew, imposed not by law but by fear. The institutions meant to protect them have either vanished or, in some cases, become indistinguishable from the armed groups themselves.
Citas Notables
The fighting goes on. They're just hiding the bodies that fall here every day in this war zone.— Local resident of Jesús María Semprúm
The last bombardment by the air force fell into empty space; they tried to surprise the ELN but failed. We suffered no casualties.— ELN representative in video statement
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would the military deny or obscure what happened if they were involved in legitimate operations?
Because the official story—that these are isolated incidents, that the military is in control—falls apart if you count the bodies. Five people executed in one day, twenty-five at a facility, a judge among them. That's not a skirmish. That's something else.
And the residents—they're not afraid to talk to journalists, but the journalist from the next town was threatened. What does that tell you?
It tells you the threat is targeted. They don't want documentation. They don't want a record. As long as it's rumor and testimony, it stays local. Once it's published, it becomes undeniable.
The mayor hasn't spoken. The police haven't spoken. But armed groups are issuing videos and making threats on social media. Who actually governs that place?
No one, officially. Everyone, unofficially. The armed groups set the curfew. They decide who leaves and who stays. The government's silence is its own kind of answer.
What about the Colombian airstrikes? Are they helping or making it worse?
They're a symptom of the same problem. Both governments are fighting armed groups, but neither is protecting the people caught between them. The strikes might kill a commander, but they don't restore order. They just shift the violence.
So what happens next? Do people keep leaving?
They're already leaving. The 24-hour evacuation orders, the curfew—it's ethnic cleansing by attrition. The territory empties, and whoever controls the guns controls what's left.