Clashes between the ELN guerrilla and one of the FARC dissidents in Catatumbo, Colombia, left 80 dead and some 18,000 displaced by violence
Dozens of displaced Venezuelans who lived in Colombia are arriving in the state of Zulia through the Catatumbo River, following clashes between the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the Catatumbo area. North of Santander.
Patricia, a Venezuelan woman who fled the conflict in Colombian lands, specifically from La Gabarra, said that she is waiting, along with other displaced people, for help to be transferred to the city of Maracaibo, located about 367 kilometers from the Jesús María Semprún municipality. (Zulia state), almost eight hours away by road.
“We were nervous because of the shooting that was going on and what they were saying, that’s why we came,” the woman said.
Patricia said, with nostalgia, that she hopes to return to Catatumbo because she had already lived there for almost 10 years and left her house: «I left the refrigerator and the house, I brought most of the corotos (objects to furnish the house). I’ll go there when that is fixed,” he added. He also indicated, through tears, that he left a son, a daughter and his brothers-in-law in the conflict zone.
The woman is waiting for buses to arrive that told them that they will take them to Maracaibo for free, as she indicated that they were charging them between $70 and $100 for a ticket each to take them “and that is a lot of money and we leave with little.” he added.
Heidy Margarita Beleño Echeverría, representative of the victims of the Colombian conflict abroad, is, in the company of Venezuelan authorities, in the town of El Cruce, caring for those affected by the conflict who fled to protect their lives.
The Esmirna Núñez National Educational Unit was converted into a temporary shelter. «More than 400 people have passed through this shelter, including Venezuelan brothers who were working on the other side of the border in the department of Norte de Santander,” specified Beleño Echeverría.
Heidy Beleño thanked the accompaniment provided by the officials and, especially, those who have collaborated with clothing, supplies and food for the displaced, while stating that “Venezuela is a territory of peace.”
Venezuelans and Colombians arrive in Venezuela in boats on the Catatumbo River, along trails in vehicles and motorcycles, with white flags, to request refuge.
Last Thursday, January 16, clashes began between the guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and one of the FARC dissidents and five days later, 80 deaths were recorded. about 18,000 displaced people by violence, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
*Journalism in Venezuela is carried out in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments in place to punish the word, especially the laws “against hate”, “against fascism” and “against the blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
Videos courtesy of Radio Fe y Alegría
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