Colombia earthquake sparks civil war fears as group threatens 'insurrection'

A far-left group in Colombia has threatened an insurrection after the huge earthquake in the country on Monday.

With a series of messages published on its webiste, the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group, is urging the Colombian population to join a “protest” and “insurrection” against the current government led by Abelardo de la Espriella, the Conservative President sworn in on Friday.

De la Espriella is known for his his hard-line approach to illegal armed groups operating in the country, and previously said they must surrender or face being declared “military targets”.

These groups, however, as reported by The Guardian, “have gathered strength and resources in recent years,” and “the ELN has about 6,300 members between armed fighters and unarmed support”.

The new president, who received Donald Trump’s support, has also pledged to tackle the persistent violence in Colombia by breaking with previous president Gustavo Petro’s policy of negotiating with armed groups, arguing that the peace process has failed.

Glaeldys González, an analyst with the International Crisis Group for the Andes, said: “His [De la Espriella’s] rise to power will reinforce this rightward shift across much of Latin America and consolidate a regional bloc of conservative governments against a dwindling number of left-wing administrations.”

De la Espriella also said that his government will unite Colombia with the “Shield of the Americas,” a regional coalition to fight drug trafficking that emerged from the summit held by Mr Trump in March.

He also announced that he will resume diplomatic relations with Israel and sever them with Cuba and Nicaragua, which he considers “tyrannies.”

The tremor was registered five kilometres east of San Jose del Palmar, but was felt across several cities, including Medellin, where buildings were evacuated according to reports on social media. The death toll currently stands at 70.