Khaberni - The "National Liberation Army" group in Colombia, which controls cocaine production areas, announced last Friday a 3-day curfew for the residents of these areas starting from Sunday, justifying it as a response to "threats of imperialist intervention" made by U.S. President Donald Trump, amidst Colombian President Gustavo Petro's mockery of the situation.
The group stated in an announcement that they will conduct "military maneuvers to defend the country" under which a curfew will be imposed from Sunday at 11 AM GMT until Wednesday at the same time, "to prevent incidents" between civilians and the military.
The left-wing armed group, which was founded in 1964 inspired by the activities of Argentine revolutionary leader Ernesto Che Guevara, added, "We, the Colombian People's Forces, oppose the threats of imperialist intervention in our country, which are a new phase of Trump's colonial plan aimed at intensifying the plunder of natural resources."
The group, which has about 5800 members, is active in more than 20% of Colombia's municipalities, which number more than 1100, according to the "Insight Crime" research center.
The U.S. president had warned that cocaine-producing countries in Latin America could "be attacked," targeting Colombia which he said "manufactures cocaine and sells it to us".
Trump also deployed significant military forces in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, led by Nicolás Maduro, whom Trump accuses of being involved in drug trafficking.
Petro mocks
In his turn, the Colombian president mocked the "National Liberation Army" group's statement. He wrote on the X platform: "Protesting against anyone should not involve killing villagers and depriving them of their freedom," adding "Gentlemen of the National Liberation Army, you claim to call for an armed strike not against Trump, but in service to the drug traffickers who control you."
Earlier this month, Petro had demanded his American counterpart to respect the "sovereignty" of his country, while the U.S. president escalated his threats to Colombia.
In turn, his Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez also denounced the move, describing it as "criminal coercion," and warned that the Colombian security forces "will be present everywhere."
The Catatumbo area, located on the border with Venezuela, is one of the strongholds of the "National Liberation Army" group that controls cocaine production in the region, which contains the largest quantities of coca leaf crops in the world.
