Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has issued a decree giving him emergency powers to restore order in Catatumbo, a coca-growing region wracked by a deadly turf war.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has declared emergency powers to restore order in the coca-growing Catatumbo region amid escalating violence.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Friday issued a decree that gives him emergency powers to respond to an outbreak of deadly violence between rival armed groups in the north-eastern Catatumbo region.

Colombia called on neighboring Venezuela on Thursday to help tackle armed guerrillas blamed for a week of bloody violence that has displaced 40,000 people in the lawless border region. "I've been in contact with the current Venezuelan government,