Colombia's 2026 Presidential Election: The Scourge of Drone Attacks

Latin America Correspondent Jon Bonfiglio with a new series on Colombia's general election, starting with a look at the fear and actuality of violence, specifically that being employed by drones. 

Transcript

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Latin America Correspondent. Those of you who have been with the podcast for at least the last year or two will know through our coverage of Haiti that the country has been the dystopic landscape for testing out new parameters as regards drone warfare. If Ukraine is where drone evolution has been most marked in the context of war, it’s in Haiti that we’ve perhaps seen the greatest pushing of the envelope with targeted hits and attacks in a mercenary context, especially in a framework which exists largely outside of the rule of law. 

It’s also been pretty clear that what has been taking place there is not only of relevance for Haiti itself, but is something of a laboratory for future operations, and that’s absolutely something we are now beginning to see in other territories. Most recently, Colombia has been seriously affected by this encroachment, with drone attacks really changing the face of violence in the country, especially in the lead-up to presidential elections of  31st May. 

According to the Colombian Defense Ministry, effective drone attacks targeting civilians and security forces jumped from 61 in 2024 to 333 in 2025. The Colombian Army has already recorded 107 drone attacks in the first five months of 2026 alone. 

Initially restricted to remote rural environments, intelligence reports now suggest that these operations are moving into Colombia’s most important urban centers. In early May 2026, authorities arrested two explosives experts from the FARC dissident "Carlos Patiño" structure in Popayán. The individuals were linked to an explosive-laden drone discovered in a field directly adjacent to the Catam Military Airbase in Bogotá, the nation's and its military’s most important aviation center, all of which is undoubtedly a stark development. 

Outside of the capital, in the troubled Cauca region, reports have emerged of armed groups shifting from using single drones to driving attacks using multiple, “swarm-style” clusters designed to maximize damage and overwhelm ground forces. In response, local police stations have been forced to fortify sentry posts with sandbags and black fabric, keeping constant watch on the skies, 

It all adds to a highly problematic landscape ahead of the upcoming elections, in which the populations of entire regions are wary of exercising their right to vote, for fear of reprisals, sure, but also in the expectation of violent attacks during the election itself. The de-personalisation of drone attacks, as well as their increasing range, mean that people feel less safe than ever, and it begs the question of how an election can be coherently run in a landscape of flawed security. In fact, the same is true of the ongoing issues with future elections in Haiti, and an absence of functional security apparatus. It’s also - watch this space - something which is already being politicized, because security is one thing, but how security is leveraged for political ends is entirely another.