ELN Guerrillas Block Trump's Venezuela Crackdown

0:00On April 22nd, a Marxist guerrilla crew, called the ELN, is straight-up blocking President Trump's push to crush Venezuela's cocaine pipeline. Labeled a terrorist group by the U.S. since October 8, 1997, they run the show along 1400 miles of the Columbia, Venezuela border, calling shots on smuggling routes, curfews, and punishments like a shadow government. Even after U.S. forces nab Nicolas Maduro in January, and Venezuela's interim leaders promised some teamwork with Washington, the ELN keeps growing. Born in the 1960s by Cuban-trained Colombian leftists, they stepped up big after the FARC disarmed in a 2016 peace deal, now. Holding coca fields, seeker crossings, and gold mines. Folks on the ground are feeling the heat from crackdowns. The U.S. blew up an ELN drugbo in international waters on October 17, 2025, killing three. Columbia hit an ELN spot in Catatumbo right after their President met Trump, wiping out

1:01at least seven fighters, but the group fired back hard on, troops. New intel shows nearly half the border. ILN are Venezuelans now, flipping the old Colombian makeup with total numbers around 2000 to 5,000. Even as well as military can't, or won't boot them, since officers skim off the smuggling cash, leaving interim boss Delci Rodriguez scrambling with weak forces. This mess has everyone in a bind, from potential quagmires like a mini Vietnam, to Colombia's May 31st election, hinging on ELN hunts without. Sparking more refugee chaos in Catatumbo. From across the country, powered by AI, this is U.S. News Today.