3.2.4. Arauca

3.2.4. Arauca

A bordering department with Venezuela, Arauca is a strategic corridor for the movement of illegal armed groups, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, trafficking in persons and contraband.349 It is also a major department for the exploration and extraction of oil.350 Arauca is disputed by the ELN and FARC dissidents (EMC and SM) seeking to consolidate their presence and hegemony through selective killings and executions.351 The presence of Tren de Aragua is also reported,³⁵² although they have faced resistance from FARC dissidents.³⁵³

The Office of the Ombudsperson indicated that in 2024, 178 killings were reported in Arauca, being the highest rate of homicides per department (57.2) in the country.354 Between January and September 2025, 84 people have been killed, including 4 social leaders and 2 signatories of the 2016 FARC-EP Peace Agreement.355 The municipalities with the highest number of homicides in this period of 2025 were Tame (24 homicides), Arauquita (21), Saravena (16), and Arauca City (12).356 The Office of the Ombudsperson indicated that in 2024, 170 people were kidnapped and/or forcefully disappeared; out of the 170, 71 were being eventually freed, 12 were found killed, and the whereabouts of 82 were unknown.357 Between January and September 2025, the number of kidnapped and/or forcefully disappeared was 180, including 76 who were eventually freed, 14 who were killed, and 90 whose whereabouts were unknown.358 Forced recruitment, including of minors and indigenous minors, is also reported,359 which coincides with the high rate of school desertions and the dynamics of forced displacement which have left a number of schools empty.360

On 22 September 2025, the Office of the Ombudsperson issued an Early Warning (Alerta Temprana) communication on the situation in Arauca due to armed confrontations between the ELN and FARC dissident groups.361 The municipalities most affected by illegal armed actors' action include Arauca City, Arauquita, Saravena, Fortul, Tame, Puerto Rondón, and Cravo Norte.362 Confrontations among armed actors involve the use of improvised explosive devices, antipersonnel mines, and unexploded ordnance.363 Illegal armed actors also use gas cylinders as rockets and carry out sabotage activities against oil pipelines, causing environmental contamination on harvesting and cattle fields.364