Colombian President Gustavo Petro looks on as he is welcomed with military honors by Leslie Voltaire, president of Haiti's Transition Council, upon his arrival for an official visit where they will have a binational council of ministers, in Jacmel, Haiti January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Marckinson Pierre

Colombia’s government is reactivating arrest orders for the top leadership of the nation’s largest rebel group.

The clashes between rival guerrilla groups have left 80 dead as Colombia braces for cutbacks in U.S. foreign aid under President Trump.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's attorney general's office on Wednesday reissued arrest warrants for leaders of the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, who had been participating in peace talks, as forced displacement caused by ELN attacks rose to 32,000 people.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Monday that he will declare a state of emergency over the guerrilla attacks in the northeast that have killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee their homes.

More than 8,000 civilians fled the violence, with many seeking shelter in government facilities or hiding in the mountains.

Inhabitants of the Colombian town of Tibu, on the northern border with Venezuela, have fled following a wave of violence that has left at least 80 people dead in clashes between two armed groups in the last week.

At least 80 people are dead and more than 18,000 have been forced to flee their homes in Colombia, officials say, amid fierce clashes between two rival armed groups on the border with Venezuela.

Francisco de Miranda, considered to be the precursor of Venezuela’s independence, stitched the country’s first flag in Jacmel and set sail from the port city. A decade later, South American liberator Simón Bolívar launched his successful movement from Jacmel’s shores.

More than 80 people were killed following the government’s failed attempts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army.

Known as Los Llanos, this sprawling plains district harbors fascinating wildlife like the anaconda, giant anteater and jaguar.

Colombia on Wednesday reinstated arrest warrants for dozens of guerrilla commanders blamed for armed attacks that displaced 32,000 people and sparked the country's most serious security crisis in years.