FARC dissident groups have begun using drones to drop ordnance in a continuation of a global shift towards the use of unmanned systems as delivery platforms.
[ATTACK]
The war in Ukraine has brought global attention to the lethal efficiency of drones in modern conflict. Today, drones are responsible for most battlefield casualties on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine front, making them a defining feature of 21st-century warfare [1]. That same shift could now be reshaping the dynamics of Colombia’s internal conflict.
On April 13, 2025, FARC dissidents launched explosive drone attacks in Cajibío, Cauca, targeting a police station just after a Palm Sunday procession. At least one civilian was injured, and similar strikes in Morales and Piendamó caused alarm amongst the population [2][3], making for three attacks in a lapse of 12 hours.
This is not an isolated trend. In July 2024, a 10-year-old boy named Dylan was killed by a drone-dropped grenade while playing soccer in Argelia, Cauca — an attack attributed to the “Jacobo Arenas” front, a FARC dissident group [4]. The same group has repeatedly used drones to target soldiers in the Micay Canyon, as confirmed by Colombian defense officials.
President Gustavo Petro responded to an attack in October 2024 by ordering airstrikes against the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), the largest FARC dissident group, invoking the principle of proportionality. He also issued a plea to these factions: “Overcome greed and make peace for the people” [5].
In February 2025, the conflict crossed another red line when a drone bombed a hospital in the same region. Petro condemned the attack as a violation of international humanitarian law, warning that these actions directly undermine the health and safety of civilians [6].
In response to this escalation tactic, the Cauca government delivered the first eight drone signal jammers to the Colombian Army in December 2024. These mobile and semi-fixed units, acquired for 7.5 billion pesos, are part of a broader plan to support military operations. [7].
The Cauca department is currently the most active conflict zone in Colombia. It has been for some time due to various factors, namely its agroecological richness, biodiversity, extensive land, and connectivity with the Colombian Pacific, which armed groups have used to establish transport routes for illegal goods, generating a confluence of different armed groups, both legal and illegal, that contest territorial control. [8] Authorities report that at least 85 drone attacks have been registered in the last year alone — most linked to dissident forces under the command of Iván Mordisco, one of the most important FARC dissident commanders [7].
As drones evolve from surveillance tools into improvised weapons of war, Colombia’s armed conflict could be entering a new, asymmetric chapter shaped by technologies once seen only on distant battlefields.
Video showing FARC use of UAV's against the ELN, April 15, 2025
Sources
(1) The New York Times, March 3, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/03/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-drones-deaths.html
(2) El Espectador, April 13, 2025. https://www.elespectador.com/judicial/disidencias-de-las-farc-atacaron-con-drones-estacion-de-policia-en-cajibio-cauca/
(3) Piendanotas noticias, April 13, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1268017488659870&id=100063548928053&rdid=6MDegIyMGJ6AzKyr#
(4) CNN en Español, July 24, 2024. https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2024/07/24/nino-muere-ataque-drones-disidencias-farc-cauca-colombia-orix
(5)Cooperativa.cl,October12,2024.https://cooperativa.cl/noticias/mundo/colombia/guerrilla/petro-ordeno-bombardear-a-disidentes-de-las-farc-tras-ataque-con-drones/2024-10-12/215435.html
(6) DW, February 18, 2025. https://www.dw.com/es/disidencias-de-las-farc-atacan-con-drones-un-hospital-en-colombia/a-71666088[7]
(7) El Tiempo, December 27, 2024. https://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/conflicto-y-narcotrafico/entregan-primeros-inhibidores-de-drones-en-el-cauca-para-enfrentar-ataques-de-grupos-armados-3412737
(8) Luna Nieto, A.; Osorio Arias, M. M. y Quirá Ordóñez, D. M. (2024). Memoria Histórica y Factores que Sostienen los Procesos Socio Organizativos en Organizaciones Indígenas y Campesinas Víctimas del Conflicto Armado de Caldono y Cajibio, Cauca. En: Luna Nieto, A. (ed. científico). Voces de resistencia y escenarios de interpelación: pre - textos para pensar la construcción de paz. (pp. 75-95). Cali, Colombia: Fundación Universitaria de Popayán; Editorial Universidad Santiago de Cali. Doi: https://doi.org/10.35985/9786287770218.4