Latest / ACLED Audio / REPORT: Mining and drug trafficking drive conflict between armed groups in Colombia’s northern Antioquia

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REPORT: Mining and drug trafficking drive conflict between armed groups in Colombia’s northern Antioquia · ACLED Audio

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Mining and drug trafficking drive conflict between armed groups in Colombia's northern Antioquia.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Executive Summary Northern Antioquia is one of the most conflict-affected departments in Colombia due to its strategic position for drug trafficking and gold mining, both legal and illegal.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: In 2026, desertions, shifting alliances, and new incursions have fueled the conflict between armed groups for the control of drug trafficking and mining activities, particularly in Briceño.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Workers and businessmen in the mining sector have also been directly targeted in relation to this escalating conflict.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: As President Abelardo de la Spría doubles down on his offensive against armed groups, they may temporarily divert their efforts toward fighting state forces.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: In the medium run, however, clashes between armed groups are likely to continue to increase in northern Antioquia, as government efforts will be hard to sustain over time, and any temporary weakening of one group will be exploited by others to make incursions in their rival's territory.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: The same drivers but different armed actors are prompting increased fighting in mining areas.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Conflict in northern Antioquia is driven by competition between armed groups for the control of strategic drug trafficking corridors connecting the Andean Cordillera with the Caribbean region and, increasingly in recent years, gold mining.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Illegal gold mining in particular has grown significantly over the past decade and is estimated to cover over 35,000 hectares in Antioquia alone.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Of this, over 90% of mining is concentrated in the Bajo Cauca and Nordeste parts of the department.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Ever since the demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2016, this conflict has pitted FARC's Estado Mayor de Bloques y Frente, EMBF, 36th and 18th Dissident Fronts, and the National Liberation Army, ELN, sometimes jointly, against the Gulf Clan, a common enemy and the region's dominant armed group.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Confrontations between armed groups in northern Antioquia increased by 65% in the first eight months of 2026, particularly in Briceño, a strategic access point to the Caribbean coast and Paramillo National Park.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: The increase is due to two main factors.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: First, EMBF dissidents launched an offensive against the Gulf Klan, most likely with the aim of increasing their influence over the electoral process, but also in retaliation for the betrayal of a 36th Front's leader who switched sides to join the Gulf clan.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: While the EMBF's 36th Front took on the Gulf Clan in Briseño and surroundings with support from the dormant Fifth Front, the 4th Front launched an offensive against the Gulf Clan in the Nordest region, particularly in El Bagre, Segovia, and Remedios.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Second, the 18th Front's decision to abandon the EMBF and join Ivan Mordisco's General Central Staff, EMC, opened a new war front in Briceño in 2025, turning the 36th Front from friend to foe.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Refer to the map in the report for details.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: The schism also prompted the creation of a new group, the Guerillas Campesinas Los Cabullos, in Briceño, which consists of deserters from both the 18th and 36th Fronts.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: As a result, so far in 2026, one in three clashes between armed groups in northern Antiochia has taken place in Briceño.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: This armed group conflict also impacts civilians involved in mining.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Armed groups regularly target civilians who refuse to submit to their rule, fail to pay extortion fees, or are suspected of collaborating with rivals.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Miners, including artisanal miners known as barrequeros, are among the most exposed groups in northern Antioquia.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: They face the risk of stepping on armed group deployed landmines and receive constant extortion threats.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: In May, the ELN threatened to attack miners in the Bajo Cauca region who refused to pay extortion fees and accused mine owners of siding with the Gulf clan.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: Between January and September 4 of this year, Accled also records the killing of a gold merchant in Remedios, the abduction of a mining businessman in Caucasia, and a drone attack attributed to the 4th FARC Dissident Front on a legal mining site in Segovia, the city that produces nearly 10% of all gold extracted in Colombia.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: These events suggest that non-state armed groups appear to be upping the ante on their extortion threats, exposing local miners and other operators in the gold supply chain to their violence, and inflicting costly physical damage on mining operations facilities.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Outlook The dispute between armed groups will intensify, influenced by the government's military actions.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Over the next three months, violence between armed groups in northern Antioquia is likely to intensify rather than plateau, as no single armed group seems to have gained a clear upper hand in the region.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Briceño and neighboring Ituango and Tarasa in particular will almost certainly remain key hotspots of competition between armed groups.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Amid these disputes, different armed groups may each try to extort the same mining operators, raising cumulative cost and coercion pressure on individual companies.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Furthermore, the increased use of weaponized drones to target both rivals and mining infrastructure adds an additional operational challenge for economic activities in the area.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: For its part, the government's incipient offensive against armed groups is likely to de-escalate conflict between armed groups, but only temporarily.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: The end of talks with the EMBF has eliminated any remaining restraint in clashes between security forces and the group, and increased military operations against illegal mining and drug trafficking may channel armed groups' violence toward fighting state forces.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: However, the government is unlikely to sustain a generalized airstrike campaign against all non-state armed groups at once, as it faces operational limits of its aircraft fleet due to insufficient maintenance and severe fiscal constraints.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Even if it manages to weaken one group's operations, others are likely to take advantage and make incursions into its territory.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: This report was written by Accled's Latin America analyst.