Bogota, Colombia – The sophistication of drones used by armed groups is rapidly expanding in Colombia as the military expands efforts to counter them, a Colombian military commander said. Latin America Report.
“We are dealing with terrorists using drones that carry grenades and wire-guided drones that are dropped at different altitudes,” said General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto, referring to the most difficult to counter modern drones.
On June 2, a drone strike reportedly killed one person in La Tarra, in the conflict-ridden Catatumbo region. A day earlier, six children and one adult were seriously injured in an attack in Cauca Suarez by members of the FARC dissident Jaime Martinez.
According to the Colombian Ministry of Defense, 333 drone strikes successfully struck or damaged targets in 2025, a 445% increase compared to 61 in 2024.
While FARC was disbanded under the 2016 peace agreement, some splinter groups emerged. These forces and National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla groups frequently target each other and attack military forces, with civilians often caught in the middle.
Gen. Lopez explained that the military is using a variety of strategies to counter the increased use of drones on these structures.
“We have already deployed units equipped with anti-drone equipment to counter the actions of these criminals and target those carrying out these attacks against us,” he said. Lopez added that the military was responding using a combination of “technical and non-technical measures,” including protective equipment and weapons capable of shooting down the aircraft.
Drones have been used by Colombian armed groups for about a decade, initially for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, but their use in attacks has increased dramatically in recent years.
The first recorded death related to a drone attack occurred in 2024. A 10-year-old boy who was playing soccer for Cauca El Plateado at the time died.
Armed groups have gained an advantage over security forces since they began using drones in an organized manner in 2024, according to Camilo Mendoza, a defense analyst and drone expert.
“Groups use drones for both surveillance and attack and have learned a lot from Ukraine. Ukraine has been a laboratory of modern warfare for the last three to four years,” he explained.
“The success of drones in both Colombia and Ukraine depends on cost. Drones are very cheap and can do a lot of things.”
According to Mendoza, who wrote the book Colombia Under Drone Threat, the main groups using drones are the FARC dissident group Estado Mayor Central and the National Liberation Army (ELN), which uses the devices for surveillance and attacks. Clan del Golfo also uses drones, primarily for reconnaissance purposes.
As technology advances, efforts to respond to it also become more active. In October 2025, Colombia’s Ministry of Defense created BANOT, Latin America’s first military battalion to counter drone threats. Authorities have also invested in radio frequency jammers and tactical radar systems as part of a broader anti-drone strategy and are planning anti-drone shields.
But analysts say the pace of development means the military is struggling to keep up. Initially, groups purchased cheap drones from major cities or online sites such as Amazon, but they are now using more sophisticated drones, including first-person view (FPV) drones and fiber-optic drones, posing a challenge to security forces.
“Fiber-optic drones cannot be detected or jammed because the system simply cannot see them,” Mendoza said.
Traditional anti-drone systems work by jamming signals between operators and aircraft. However, modern drones can be modified to reduce the effectiveness of these countermeasures.
“All anti-drone systems in Colombia operate through the electromagnetic spectrum,” Mendoza explained. “There will be no impact on these newer systems and drones can still carry out attacks even if the battalion is equipped with anti-drone equipment.”
While analysts warn of the challenge drones pose to security forces, humanitarian groups say civilians are increasingly bearing the consequences.
“This is not a new phenomenon, but the speed at which it is spreading is alarming,” said Antonio Salvatore Armentano, Colombia representative for the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS). Latin America Report. “Communities on the ground are absorbing threats that are barely beginning to be named in policy frameworks.”
In a recent technical report on drones in Colombia, UNMAS emphasized that in many areas the only defense is “visual and acoustic detection, which recognizes the drone’s distinctive ‘buzz’ sound and attempts to flee.”
Not all drones are used in attacks (some are used for surveillance), but the sound or sight of them causes psychological distress as the community has no way of knowing.
“The damage does not end when an attack occurs. Communities living amid the sound of drones experience chronic fear and anxiety. Not all drones are armed, but no one on the ground can tell the difference. That uncertainty itself is a form of violence,” Armentano said.
As armed groups adopt increasingly sophisticated drones, humanitarian groups warn that civilians will face increasing consequences.
Featured Image Description: A member of the Colombian Air Force holds a drone.
Featured image source: Colombian Aerospace Force.
