At least three Colombian soldiers have been killed and four wounded after rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN) attacked a military compound in the northeastern municipality of Ocaña using explosives-laden drones, Colombian authorities announced on Saturday. The assault, which took place late on Friday, involved an estimated 20 drones dropping explosives onto the facility before armed fighters engaged soldiers in close combat inside the compound. A third soldier, initially injured in the attack, later died while receiving medical attention.

Ocaña is located in the department of Norte de Santander — a strategically significant region in northeastern Colombia that borders Venezuela and encompasses the Catatumbo area, a stronghold of the ELN and one of the country's primary coca-producing zones. The region also harbours dissident factions of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that refused to participate in a peace agreement signed roughly a decade ago, with both groups competing for control of territory and smuggling routes that extend to the porous Venezuelan border. The attack was serious enough to prompt Ocaña's mayor to impose a nighttime curfew; videos circulating on social media showed university students sheltering on classroom floors as explosions rang out nearby.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella responded sharply, issuing a direct warning on social media: "To the ELN I say with absolute clarity — for every police officer or soldier you kill, I will bring down on you the full weight and legitimate force of the State." De la Espriella, who took office pledging a return to militarised confrontation with armed groups, has been intensifying aerial bombardments and ground operations across the country since his inauguration. Critics have raised concerns that the hardline approach could fuel escalating violence and potential human rights abuses.

Friday's attack is the latest in a series of deadly incidents unsettling Colombia. Earlier this week, a car bomb outside a police station in the northeast injured multiple people, and an explosion outside a police station in the city of Cúcuta in August wounded eleven officers. The ELN, an armed Marxist-Leninist guerrilla organisation active since 1964, has been blamed for all of these incidents.

The assault comes as de la Espriella deepens security cooperation with Washington. Colombia joined the United States-led "Shield of the Americas" anti-drug initiative in August, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet the Colombian president next week in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla. The drone attack underscores the persistent threat posed by armed groups in Colombia despite — or arguably because of — the government's intensified military campaign, raising questions about whether confrontation alone can restore stability to one of Latin America's most conflict-affected regions.