The unusually deadly violence delivers a devastating blow to the “total peace” program of the country’s first leftist president, Gustavo Petro.

At least 80 people are dead and more than 18,000 have been forced to flee their homes in Colombia, officials say, amid fierce clashes between two rival armed groups on the border with Venezuela.

Colombia vowed "war" against left-wing guerrillas Monday, declaring a state of emergency and deploying thousands of soldiers to contain a wave of violence.

More than 8,000 civilians fled the violence, with many seeking shelter in government facilities or hiding in the mountains.

More than 80 people were killed in the country’s northeast over the weekend following the government’s failed attempts to hold peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said.

Colombia vowed “war” against left-wing guerrillas today, declaring a state of emergency and deploying thousands of soldiers to contain a wave of violence t

Venezuela closed its borders and airspace to Colombia on Friday, the day President Nicolas Maduro is to be sworn in as the country's highest authority.

At least 80 people were killed in northeast Colombia following failed attempts at peace talks with the National Liberation Army, a Colombian official said.

Venezuela closed its border with Colombia on Friday until next Monday after denouncing an "international conspiracy" just hours before leftist Nicolás Maduro is sworn in for a third consecutive term amid allegations of fraud by the opposition.

The criminal war in northeast Colombia has escalated, as intense fighting between two Colombian guerrilla groups erupted in the Catatumbo region, a key cocaine production hub and criminal hotspot along the Venezuelan border.

Terrified residents carrying backpacks and belongings on overladen motorcycles, boats, or crammed onto the backs of open trucks, fled the region over the weekend.

Colombia has suspended peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, for a second time in less than a year after blaming the rebel group for violence that has been affecting the northeastern