Colombia ELN rebels deny any involvement with alleged drug boat destroyed by US
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A boat floats off the coast of Venezuela in this screen grab taken from a video released October 14, 2025, before what U.S. President Donald Trump said on a post on Truth Social was a U.S. strike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat. Donald Trump via Truth Social/via REUTERS
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BOGOTA - Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels on Tuesday denied any involvement with an alleged drug boat destroyed by U.S. in the Caribbean.
"The National Liberation Army does not and will not have any boat connected with drug trafficking activities, neither in the Caribbean nor any other ocean, simply because it is prohibited" by the group's rules, the ELN said in a statement dated Monday but posted on social media on Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed over the weekend that a vessel bombed by U.S. forces in the Caribbean on Friday belonged to the ELN, though Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said it was the property of a "humble family."
Petro has objected to the U.S. military's strikes against vessels in the Caribbean, which have killed dozens of people and inflamed tensions in the region. Many legal experts and human rights activists have also condemned the military actions.
In response, Trump has accused Petro, without evidence, of being a "illegal drug leader" and threatened higher tariffs on Colombia and a cut to all U.S. funding for the country. REUTERS
