The oldest active guerrilla group on the continent asked citizens to refrain from traveling on “roads and navigable rivers,” while announcing that its road control units “will respect civilians and their property.”

“The Colombian popular forces protest against the threats of imperialist intervention in our country, as a new phase of Trump [Donald]’s neocolonial plan, which aims to sink its claws even deeper into territories of Latin America and the Caribbean,” the armed group stated in its communication.

The ELN also asked civilians not to mix with the military “to avoid accidents.”

The Ministry of Defense rejected the announcement and considered what the ELN called an armed strike, which will end on December 17 at 6:00 a.m. (local time) according to the insurgent group, “nothing more than criminal coercion.”

The Ministry announced a full deployment of capabilities, whereby military and police personnel will remain on high alert to prevent violent actions and guarantee the mobility and security of communities.

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