HomeNewsThe ELN's Power Move: Pipeline Bombings in Colombia's Santander
NEWS

The ELN's Power Move: Pipeline Bombings in Colombia's Santander

COLOMBIA / 29 OCT 2021 BY MARK WILSON EN

A series of attacks on oil pipelines in Colombia's northeastern department of Santander, for which the ELN has claimed responsibility, could be a show of strength ahead of the country's upcoming elections.

The Colombian government has offered a reward of 20 million Colombian pesos ($5,000) for any information concerning who was behind a series of recent attacks on Ecopetrol oil infrastructure in Santander.

This came a week after the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN) posted a statement on its website, claiming responsibility for four acts of sabotage on infrastructure around the La Cira Infantas oil field near the city of Barrancabermeja.

On October 15, two explosions crippled the Ayacucho Galán 8 pipeline. A month prior, two bombings were orchestrated within hours of one another at nearly the same location. The first explosion destroyed a 12-inch transfer line, while the second targeted a pipeline that moved oil from the El Centro Dehydration Plant to the Barrancabermeja refinery. Production at the fields was temporarily halted as a result.

SEE ALSO: Colombia News and Profile

The ELN said in its statement that the attacks were meant to "open a debate" about the state's use of oil resources. Colombia's guerrillas have long targeted infrastructure belonging to Ecopetrol, Colombia's majority state-owned oil company.

According to Reuters, 28 incidents have been recorded from 2021 through September. In 2020, Ecopetrol recorded 51 oil infrastructure attacks.

InSight Crime Analysis

While attacks on oil infrastructure are common, it's notable that the ELN has claimed involvement in these latest attacks in such a public manner – possibly part of a broader strategy to remind those in power of the threat the rebels can pose to the state.

Attacks on oil pipelines are an old modus-operandi for the ELN, which it used liberally during the 1990s, especially in Santander and other regions of Colombia's Eastern Plains. Extortion of oil companies was also a crucial source of revenue that allowed the armed group to survive during this period.

The geography of these recent attacks is also significant. The Santander region has symbolic value for the ELN, as its birthplace back in the 1960s. The early formation of the group took place in the small villages of San Vicente de Chucurí and Simacota.

SEE ALSO: How Many Colombian Fighters are Really Inside Venezuela?

More recently, the group has used attacks on oil pipelines to signal strength at key strategic moments. In 2016, the group attacked the country's second-largest oil pipeline, the Caño Limón-Coveñas pipeline, in an attempt to pressure the government into peace negotiations, which were being explored at that time.

As a strategy, this mirrored the use of pipeline bombings by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas de Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC) to place pressure on the Colombian government during the peace negotiations of the early 2010s.

Now, the ELN - Colombia's strongest remaining guerrilla force - is in a position to demonstrate its strength. The group has grown over the past four years, even establishing a firm foothold in Venezuela.

In 2020, the group imposed a 72-hour national strike across 9 of Colombia's departments, paralyzing much of Colombia's rural territory. In 2019, the ELN claimed responsibility for bombing the National Police Academy in Bogotá, killing 22 cadets.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COCAINE / 18 JAN 2022

Authorities in Colombia have netted the country's "king" of drug submarines – a man whose services, prosecutors allege, have been employed…

COLOMBIA / 23 AUG 2021

The death of a top guerrilla commander in southern Colombia has unveiled an all-too-familiar situation: the leaders of criminal groups…

COCAINE / 29 JUN 2022

Turkish and foreign law enforcement have seized record quantities of cocaine heading from South America to Turkey, revealing the growing…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.